The Fast and the Furious
by Fes
Summary: COMPLETE. Tree Hill, NC has been divided into East side and West side. The only thing the two sides can agree is the mutual hatred between each other and the passion for fast cars. When the two schools unite, drama, passion and romance ensue. NH, BL, JP.
1. Prologue

The Fast and the Furious

Prologue

Tree Hill, North Carolina could be described in so many words. If you would ask a resident to describe Tree Hill in only one word, it would most likely be "divided". For as long as they could all remember, Tree Hill had been a divided city. It all started back in the 50's when the local high school became too small for its students. They were forced to build a new one and in the process divide the city into West side and East side in order to decide who belonged in which school.

West side of Tree Hill was the Orange County of North Carolina. It was the home of the rich and the famous, the bold and the beautiful. They all lived in mansions and partied at their beach houses. Most of the kids were spoiled brats with BMW's and Louis Vuitton purses. The "leader" of the West side was Dan Scott, the richest of them all. Whenever someone wanted to buy a new Ferrari for their spoiled one, Dan Scott was the man they all went to. It was no wonder that his son, Nathan Scott, was the "it" guy amongst the teenagers. He had a passion for pretty girls and like everybody else in Tree Hill, the passion for fast cars. He threw the wildest parties and dominated the school and because of his status as the captain of the basketball team, the teachers let him pass every test he took even if he only got his name right. And the same went with his gang. Tim Smith, theidiot of the gang, was not only Nathan's best friend but also a team mate. Brooke Davis, the princess of the West, was the richest and snobbiest of all the girls. So no wonder she fit it in. Her best friend Peyton Sawyer was the odd one in their group. She was the rebel without a cause. The only reason she was a cheerleader was because her mother had been one too. Even though she was the most unique in their gang, she enjoyed the life on the West side. There was just something soothing knowing that the biggest problem you had was which outfit you would wear the next day. Yes, life was good for Nathan Scott and his friends.

Then there was the East side and the Easts. The normal people with their normal nine-to-five jobs. They didn't live in mansions. They didn't have beach houses and they sure as hell didn't drive Ferraris or have Louis Vuitton purses, at least the authentic ones. They lived in normal houses with white picked fences and a two car garages. The heart of the East side was Karen's Café. Karen was a successful café owner and a single parent. She was nice, sweet and made the best cakes in the city. She was also the only person who had ever said no to Dan Scott. At the end of her high school senior year she became pregnant with Dan's child. Few months later Dan's girlfriend, Deb, became pregnant with his child too. Dan chose Deb because he saw a future with her, and especially with her parents' money. Few years later Dan was a rich business owner and offered to buy Karen a house on the West side. "No child of mine will be living on the East side." he said. Karen had just opened the café and gotten a small house so she didn't need his help but most of all, she didn't want his help. So she told him to go where the sun didn't shine. And that was the reason she was liked by so many Easts. Her son, Lucas, was an excellent basketball player and like his stepbrother, the captain of his basketball team. He spent all of his time working athis uncle's auto garage or playing basketball at the Rivercourt with his friends. His best friend since elementary school was Haley James, the girl who was a combination of everything. She was a tomboy with a 4.0 GPA. She played soccer but she was also a tutor in the school. She came from a big family so she had to work for her money. She worked at Karen's café and also with Lucas at Keith's garage. And still she managed to have time to hang out with Jake and Lucas at Rivercourt. The Easts loved their life.

The only passion both sides had was the passion for fast cars. Back in the old days they would solve every argument with a race. Now the kids kept up the tradition. The cops tried to put an end to every race and usually they succeeded. So nowadays when they wanted to race, it had to be well planned and kept a secret from any outsiders.

The only thing both Easts and Wests could agree was the mutual hatred towards each other. Especially the kids hated each other. Whenever they had a basketball, football, chess or any game, match or meet against each other, the whole school was watching. The cops were everywhere because almost always there was a fight. It wasn't easy to live in a city where you hated half of the population.

So just imagine everyone's reaction when they found out that the city officials decided to unite the schools. Make it a one Tree Hill.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Somewhere in East side.

"Haley."

"Hey, it's me. Where you at?"

"Home. Why?"

"I'm meeting Jake at River court. Wanna come?"

"Sure. Pick me up in ten?"

"Ok."

"See you soon, Luke." Haley snapped her cell phone shut and changed her pyjamas into baggy sweats and a top. While she was putting on some sneakers she happened to look at a framed picture on her desk of her, Lucas and Jake. They were sitting on the bleachers at River court and making weird faces for the camera. Haley smiled at the picture. For as long as she could remember she had been part of the group. One of the guys. And she loved it. She didn't have many friends that were girls. Sure she got along with the girls who were in her soccer team but she just loved hanging out with the guys. Everything was always so much easier with them. Lucas had been her best friend since she was 8. They met Jake few years later when he moved in town. They all had been friends ever since. Sometimes they also hung out with the River court gang: Mouth, Fergie, Junk and Skills.

Haley heard a car honk and quickly put her hair up in a messy bun. She ran downstairs, took her basketball and got into Lucas' car.

"Hey buddy." Haley said.

"What's up, Hales."

"Nothing. Can I drive?" Haley asked and smiled sweetly at Lucas. He just rolled his eyes and started to reverse from Haley's driveway.

"Nope."

"Oh, come on Luke. You know I could get us there so much faster than you."

"Probably true but I also prefer to get there alive." he said.

"What are you talking about?" Haley asked innocently. "I'm an excellent driver."

"Haley, you're a crazy driver. There's a difference."

"And that difference, my friend, is the reason I always win when we race." she said proudly. Lucas smiled at her. Every time he drove her they ended up having the same conversation.

"You know Hales, a normal person usually doesn't want to drive right after they've gotten into a small car accident."

"Luke, it wasn't a car accident."

"Well, you never told me how you managed to break your side mirror _and_ bump your back bumper into something so it's hanging from its string." Lucas pointed out.

"Ok, if I tell you the truth, promise me two things. One: you won't tell any living sole ever! Ever! And two: you won't laugh." Haley said seriously.

"You know I won't tell." Lucas said. He didn't mention anything about laughing at her because usually everything Haley did was funny as hell. Like every time she tried to park her car. She could spend ten minutes trying to park her car and in the process block the surrounding traffic. It was beyond Lucas' understanding how someone who was probably the best racer in their school couldn't park her car. She hated parking and tried to avoidit with all costs. That's why she almost never drove her own car if there was a possibility to get a ride from somebody else. That and the fact that she had to pay her own gas.

"Well, you're going to want to tell this." she said. Lucas turned to look at her quickly before turning his eyes back on the road. Now he really wanted to know this.

"Hales, I promise."

"Ok. You remember few days ago when I was late for work?"

"Sure, you drove for work and I saw what had happened to your car."

"Yeah… Well, I was late for work and got into my car that was in my garage. I got in, turned on the engine and started to reverse really fast and I kinda… smashed the left side mirror on my garage door." Haley said.

"You're kidding, right?" Lucas asked. When he turned to look at an embarrassed Haley, he burst out laughing.

"Hey, you promised you wouldn't laugh!"

"Sorry." Lucas said and forced himself to stop laughing. "But that doesn't explain what happened to your back bumper."

"Well, after I broke my side mirror I got really angry and continued to reverse. Well, I guess I wasn't paying much attention because suddenly I heard a crash."

"What did you hit?" Lucas asked concerned.

"My mailbox." Haley finished. By now she was bright red with embarrassment and hiding her face in her hands. Lucas was laughing so hard he had trouble keeping the car on the road.

"Hales, I don't understand how everything like this always happens to you." Lucas said smiling.

"Me neither. Thank god the new school has a huge parking lot." Haley said. At the beginning of their junior year the city officials had decided to unite West High and East High. The reaction of people was a mixed one. Some said that it was good thing because maybe now the hostility between West and East would stop. The others said that this would just make it worse. Most of the kids agreed with the latter.

"I can't believe school's starting in a few days. We're seniors. Why couldn't they have waited one more year so we would've been in college…" Lucas said and sighed. Haley looked at him concerned.

"How are you feeling about this whole thing? Being in the same school with your brother?"

"Step-brother." Lucas corrected. "It totally sucks. Not only do we have to share the same school and classes but also the basketball team." Lucas said angrily.

"It's gonna be fine. Don't worry." Haley said and squeezed his hand.

"Thanks Hales, but you know that's not true."

"Well, whatever happens I'm here for you. They won't bother you if you won't let them."

"Let's hope so… We're here." Lucas said and parked the car smoothly near the basketball court. They got out of the car and started to walk towards Jake who was practising on his free throws. Lucas turned to look at Haley with a mischievous smile.

"Race you to the court."

"Oh, you're on. On five." Haley said and they both started the countdown. "One! Three! Five!" and they both started to run towards the court as fast as they could while laughing their asses off.

Somewhere in West side.

"Yo waddup Nate dawg! It's T to the Tizzle, I to the-"

"Tim, just say 'It's Tim'." Nathan sighed and held up the small cell phone between his ear and shoulder so he could put his sneakers on.

"It's Tim."

"Yeah, I got that. Hey I was actually about to call you. The new gym's not open yet and my basketball court is full of my mom's shit. She's cleaning the garage or whatever. You wanna go play ball at River court?"

"Sure, but don't the Easts usually go there?"

"Who cares. If they see us they probably end up running away like scared little bitches."

"Sweet!"

"Meet me there in 20." Nathan said and hung up. He stared at the phone for a while and was about to call someone but then decided against it. He went to his car. Newest from Daddy's shop. He sped off leaving tire marks on his driveway. He drove for a while until he reached his destination. He started honking until he saw a blonde curly head open a second floor window.

"Hey babe." Nathan yelled and smiled at Peyton.

"Go away!"

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that." he said and honked.

"Nathan, I broke up with you!"

"No, you didn't." He said smirking and honked it again.

"Yes, I did."

"Nope, now please get in the car." he said and honked yet again.

"No, and stop the fucking honking!" she screamed.

"Don't think so." Nathan said smirking. "In fact, I'm gonna keep honking until you get here."

"Go away!" she yelled. Nathan shrugged his shoulders and started to honk. Peyton looked around and saw that few of her neighbours were staring at her angrily. She sighed frustrated, closed the window, took her purse and walked angrily towards Nathan's car.

"I hate you!" she screamed. She sat down and slammed the car door shut. "And we're picking up Brooke." Nathan just smirked and sped off towards Brooke's house.

At River court

"…and Haley James loses the ball to Fergie who tries to get pass Lucas Scott. He doesn't succeed and Scott takes the ball and passes it to Ms. James who's blocked by Jake Jaglieski. Haley tries to get past him but it appears that Jaglieski isn't letting the school tutor off so easily. Haley still tries to get pass him and –oh did she just elbow him!- James is finally free and shoots the ball neatly through the hoop. But the basket doesn't count. Foul by Haley James." Mouth ended his announcing. He, Fergie and Skills had joined Jake, Lucas and Haley. Skills and Mouth were sitting on the bleachers while the rest of them were playing on the court.

"What? It was clean." Haley said and looked at Jake who was still rubbing his arm.

"Hales…" Lucas started.

"Ok, whatever. Sorry 'bout that Jake. You know how I get when I play." she said apologetically.

"No problem Hales." He said and smiled. She passed the ball to Jake who got ready for a free throw. And he succeeded. And the other one too.

"Two points for Jaglieski-Ferguson team. They now lead by 3 points." Mouth announced.

"Hey Skills, you wanna play?" Haley asked.

"Naw, my foot's still sore from yesterday." Skills said.

"What happened?" Lucas asked and went to sit on the bleachers to get a drink.

"Well Fergie here decided that it would be funny to throw a bowling ball at me."

"What!" Haley asked.

"Wait, wait, wait." Fergie started. "I told him to catch." Fergie said.

"Yeah, _after_ you threw it." Skills said.

"It was more like during throwing it." Fergie said.

"Yeah, well I wasn't prepared and it hit my foot."

"Ouch, you ok?" Jake asked and took a seat next to Lucas at the bleachers.

"Yeah, just a few bruises. It was one of those lighter balls." Skills said.

"Yeah, sorry about that man." Fergie said and offered his hand for Skills to shake.

"No problem." he said and shook it.

"Yo, Jake. Throw me the ball." Haley said and caught the ball Jake threw. She started to practise her free throws while the guys were sitting at the bleachers. The guys were deep in conversation and Haley was so focused on throwing the ball that none of them noticed 2 cars park close by and 4 persons getting out of the cars.

Haley missed a shot and angrily threw the ball over the whole basket. She started after the ball and that's when she noticed the group of people coming her way. Leading them was Nathan Scott, holding her ball.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." Haley said angrily and continued to walk towards them. "You guys must be lost!" Haley yelled at them. That got the guys' attention at the bleachers and they started to walk towards Haley and the group of Wests.

"Well, well, well." Nathan started. "If it isn't the bastard Scott with his lil' bitches."

"What do you want, _little brother_?" Lucas said the last part sarcastically.

"Nothing... Just came to play." Nathan said and nodded towards Tim. Lucas could see him and two girls, one blonde and one brunette. The brunette was staring at him with a sexy smile. When she noticed Lucas watching, she quickly looked somewhere else.

"Well, this court's taken. Find another one." Haley said coldly. "And give me my ball." Nathan just snorted holding the ball tighter.

"Don't think so. Besides, me and Lucas-" Nathan started.

"Lucas and I." Haley corrected with a sigh. How hard was it to speak real English? Nathan just stared at her surprised.

"Lucas and I" Nathan looked at Haley "are going to have play on the same court sooner or later." he said smirking.

"I prefer later. Now get the hell out of here." Lucas said seriously.

"We're playing here now." Nathan said and glared at Lucas. He glared back. There was a silence. Everyone was staring at Nathan and Lucas and they were all thinking the same thing. Which one was gonna start the fight? The silence was broken by a beeping sound. Everybody flinched except for Lucas and Nathan who were still glaring at each other. Jake took his cell phone out of his pocket, read the text message and sighed.

"Guys, I gotta go. Family stuff." he said.

"Oh." Haley said. "Everything ok with…" Haley asked when she realized it was probably something to do with Jenny.

"Yeah, everything's cool. Later, guys. And Hales, you look after Luke, k'?"

"Always. Later." she said and waved him goodbye. Jake started to walk towards his car. He noticed a blonde girl standing behind Tim looking bored. He smiled a small smile at her and she smiled back. Jake continued towards his car still smiling.

"So…" Haley said and broke Nathan and Lucas' glaring. Now they were both glaring at her. "Never mind." she muttered.

"We need to settle this thing once and for all. Right now." Nathan said through gritted teeth.

"I agree." Lucas said at the same way. They were both ready to start fighting.

"Hey, come one guys. No need to get hostile." Haley said.

"What? You gotta be kidding." Lucas said.

"It won't do any good if you kill each other." she tried to reason. She didn't want to see her best friend get hurt but she was also scared that he might kill Nathan. And Haley didn't wanna see Lucas in jail.

"Come on, Hales. Stop being naïve." Lucas said.

"Now, isn't this cute. Lucas Scott asking permission to fight from his girlfriend." Nathan taunted.

"I'm not his girlfriend." Haley said through gritted teeth. "God, why do people assume that? Is it so hard to believe that a guy and a girl can just be best friends? Or is there some kind of law that prevents two persons with different genders from hanging out as friends if they're not blood related? I'm sick of this whole 'She's best friends with guys, she must be dating them or doing them'" she said in a high voice. "So what if I don't get along with girls? So what if my best friend is a guy? So what-"

"Haley!" Haley got cut off by Lucas, Mouth, Skills and Fergie who were all staring at her bored. They've all heard it before. Haley just rolled her eyes at them and turned to look at Nathan who was smiling in amusement.

"What! What! So, I was blabbering, what!" Haley said sarcastically. Nathan wouldn't stop smirking.

"Anyways!" Haley said trying to change the subject back. "I'm not being naïve. I for one would be more than happy to see Lucas kick your ass back to your Daddy's mansion." Haley said while glaring at Nathan. "I just think there are better ways to solve this whole East versus West problem we have." she said excitedly.

"What are you thinking, Haley? How can we solve this without a fight?" Lucas asked suspiciously. He could see the gleam in her eyes which only meant trouble for all of them.

"The way we solve everything in this town." Haley paused for emphasis. "We go old school." she said smiling. It took everyone by surprise. Apparently none of them had thought about that option but by the looks on their faces they all seemed to think it was a good idea. Tim looked at Nathan confused.

"I don't get it." Tim whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. "Why does she want us to go to our school?"

"I meant I want us to race, you retard." Haley said.

"Hey!" Tim said offended.

"Hey!" Haley mimicked his voice. Nathan and Lucas couldn't help but laugh at Haley. When they realized they were actually laughing at the same thing they both turned back serious.

"So, you think we should race?" Brooke asked stepping up behind the guys. She could feel Lucas' eyes checking her out. And she loved it.

"That's right." Haley started. "You pick the best racer from West and we pick the best from East. This'll be the final competition between West and East… ever."

"Where do we do this?" Brooke asked excited. Lucas looked at her. The girl was hot.

"How about we meet here tomorrow. Same place, same time. We'll talk about the place, the time, rules, etc." Haley said. She saw Tim looking confused again.

"Et cetera." Haley cleared. Tim blinked.

"You know, other stuff like that." Haley tried to explain. Tim smiled in understanding.

"Why don't we just do it now?" Nathan asked smirking. That Haley girl was cracking him up. Haley looked at her watch.

"Because I gotta work." Haley said. Then she continued with a smile. "See, it's when you go to a place and you work a certain amount of time and you get paid for it. And with that money you can buy stuff." she explained it to Nathan as if he wouldn't know the meaning of it. Nathan just huffed in annoyance. Haley turned to look at Lucas. "Drive me home?"

"Sure, see ya later guys." he said and left with Haley. Nathan and the others stared at the duo. They saw Haley and Lucas first sprinting towards his car and when Haley was about to lose, she jumped on Lucas' back. They both fell on the grass laughing.

"The hell they're not dating." Brooke muttered angrily. Lucas was hot and she wanted him.

"Actually, I believe her. I think they're just friends." Peyton said still watching them.

"Blondie's right." Fergie started. "They're not dating. So don't go spreading no rumours." He said before leaving with Mouth and Skills, leaving the Wests alone at the court. Everyone was quiet with their thoughts. Thinking about what had just happened and what would happen. Tim looked at them confused.

"What's naïve?"

--------

So, what do you think? Please review, means the world to me. :)


	3. Chapter 2

Part 2

Somewhere in East side:

"Haley, you're a genius!"

"Why, thank you Mr. Jaglieski. You're not so dumb yourself." Haley said and smiled at Jake while wiping the counter. Jake had to leave River court early because his dad had to leave for work and couldn't baby sit Jenny anymore. Her mom came home so he was able to leave for few hours. Now he and Lucas were hanging out at Karen's Café where Haley was working. It was a slow day and Karen had the day off so they were the only people at the café.

"I can't wait to beat the West. It's gonna be so awesome." Haley said with a dreamy look.

"Who's gonna drive for us?" Jake asked.

"That'd be me." Haley said smiling. "Oh, I can't wait to see their faces when I win!" Haley said with that crazy gleam in her eyes the others were used to seeing. Haley kept on wiping the counter still smiling.

"Who do you think is driving for them?" Jake asked.

"Probably Nathan." Haley said.

"I don't know. He got into an accident a few months ago. He could've quit racing." Lucas said.

"Well, whoever drives will get the coolest car from Dan's dealership. It's so not fair." Haley said.

"True. What are you driving?" Jake asked from Haley while taking a sip from his soda.

"I don't know. My car's not fast enough compared to some of the ones Dan is selling. Besides, I'm still missing my side mirror." Haley said and sighed.

"Hales! You remember the old racing car that's been at Keith's garage for a while?" Lucas suddenly asked.

"Yeah, but it's a piece of junk. And we've only kept it because we thought we could sell most of the parts." Haley said.

"Well, what if we don't sell the parts. What if we fix it?" Lucas asked excited.

"I don't know, Luke. It's a lot of work. I don't even remember the last time I heard its engine run." Haley said doubting the whole thing.

"Oh, come on Hales! It'll be fun! We'll fix the whole car, you'll win the race and the best thing is that we get a new car!" Lucas said excited.

"I think he's right." Jake said.

"Of course I'm right." Lucas said smiling.

"I don't know…" Haley said hesitating.

"Oh come on, Hales. You know you want to." Lucas said. Haley still looked like she was thinking about it.

"Haley…" Jake sing-songed.

"Ok, ok, ok! We'll fix the goddamn car." she said.

"Yeah!" Lucas yelled and high-fived Haley. First Haley looked really excited but then her face turned into a scowl.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"Nathan's still got my ball."

"Don't worry, we'll get it back." Jake said.

"Yeah, when I beat him!" Haley yelled excited.

"We're so gonna win this!" Lucas said smiling.

Somewhere in West side:

"We're so gonna win this!" Brooke yelled excited.

"That's the plan." Nathan said while shooting Haley's ball through the basketball hoop. Nathan, Peyton, Brooke and Tim were still hanging out at Rivercourt.

"Who's driving for us?" Tim asked Nathan.

"Me." Nathan said and shot the ball through the hoop.

"Even after the accident?" Brooke asked surprised.

"Like I'm gonna let that stop me." Nathan said.

"Who do you think is driving for them?" Peyton asked wondering.

"Probably Lucas." Brooke said dreamily.

"So, it's Scott versus Scott. Interesting." Peyton said.

"But we have to make them believe I'm not the driver." Nathan said.

"Why?" Tim asked.

"Because I don't want them to try any shit before the race." Nathan said.

"That's smart." Brooke said. "How do you wanna do this?"

"They probably already know about my accident so all I have to do is pretend that now I'm scared to race or other shit like that." Nathan said.

"That's not enough." Peyton said. "We also have to act like we have someone else racing for us. They have to believe that there's someone else."

"Who?" Brooke asked. They all turned to look at Tim.

"What?" he asked unaware or his important role.

"You're going to be our fake driver." Brooke said excited.

"Why?" Tim asked.

"Because they know you're best friends with me so you've gotta have some racing experience. And also it's easier for them to believe that I'd give one of my dad's cars to someone who's my friend than a complete stranger." Nathan reasoned. He missed the net so he angrily threw the ball over the entire thing, like Haley had few hours ago. Nathan smiled at the thought.

"Right now, all we gotta worry is Tim's acting." Nathan said.

"Ok, so what do I have to do?" Tim asked.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. If you go jumping up and down yelling 'I'm the racer for West' they'll never buy it. They're not stupid. You have to act nonchalant." Peyton said. Tim looked confused.

"Nonchalant." Peyton repeated. Tim just raised his eyebrows.

"Like nothing weird is going on. Be cool." Brooke explained.

"I can be cool." Tim said smiling.

"We know you can. Now go get the ball." Nathan said and pointed at Haley's ball. Tim sprinted after the ball. The trio looked after him.

"Do you think he can be cool about this?" Peyton asked worried. "What if he's too relaxed and the Easts don't even think that it could be him."

"Don't worry. The more we tell him to be cool and normal, the more nervous he will be. Trust me, he'll do fine." Nathan said watching Tim coming back with the ball.

"Are we ready to go?" Peyton asked getting bored. She did care about beating the East but she didn't wanna spend an entire afternoon hanging out at a basketball court when she could be home drawing and listening to her music.

"Sure. Nathan, you're driving us home, right?" Brooke asked.

"Actually Brooke, I was wondering if you could go with Tim. I need to talk to Peyton." Nathan said.

"Sure, let's go Tim. Call me!" she yelled at Peyton before leaving with Tim. Peyton looked after her friend and started to walk towards Nathan's car. They both got in and he started driving towards her house.

"Nathan-" Peyton started.

"Peyton, don't say anything. Just hear me out." he said and took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry for the way things have lately been with us. With me. I've been just really stressed about everything and I hope we can put that all behind. I want us to go back to normal, Peyton."

"Nathan, normal sucks with us! I'm sorry, but it does. Look, I didn't break up with you because of how you've been acting lately. I broke up with you because I didn't work. It never did." Peyton said.

"Don't say that! It's not true." Nathan said even though he knew she was right.

"Nate, you know I'm right. Don't you remember how much fun we used to have when we were just friends? Everything changed after we started dating. I want to be your friend." Peyton stopped for a while before continuing. "But I can't be your girlfriend." Peyton finished. They drove for a while in silence until they got in front of her house.

"So, just friends." Nathan said more to himself than her.

"Just friends." Peyton said and smiled.

"Ok, we can do that. We can be friends. I have a better idea, though." Nathan said smirking. "How about friends with benefits?" he said and winked. Peyton started laughing.

"Good bye, Nathan." she said smiling and got out of the car.

"Is that a yes?" Nathan yelled after her. She turned around to look at him.

"It's a hell no." she said smiling.

"Ouch!" Nathan said. "You're coming tomorrow to the meeting with the Easts, right?"

"Of course. See you there." she said before disappearing inside the house. Nathan looked at the house for a while and then sped off. He knew they had made the right decision but it still made him a little bit sad. Sure, they had been horrible when they were dating, but at least they had been dating. He looked at the passenger seat and noticed Haley's basketball there. He smiled when he remembered her making fun of Tim. She was different from every girl he'd ever met. Suddenly, all sad thoughts about Peyton disappeared.

Next day, at River court

Haley, Lucas and Jake were playing ball at Rivercourt, waiting for the Wests to arrive.

They saw a car coming towards them and park behind the court. Nathan, Tim, Brooke and Lucas got out of it.

"Here we go…" Haley mumbled when the four started walking towards them.

"Good morning!" Brooke said cheerily and started shaking everyone's hands. "Brooke Davis. Nice to meet you."

"Lucas Scott. Nice to meet you too." Lucas smiled.

"And what are your names?" Brooke asked from Haley and Jake.

"Haley James." Haley said suspiciously. What was she up to?

"Jake Jaglieski." Jake said.

"Nice to meet you all. Like I said, I'm Brooke Davis. This is Nathan Scott, Tim Smith and my best friend Peyton Sawyer." Brooke said. Everyone exchanged heys.

"Ok, what's with the cheeriness?" Haley finally asked narrowing her eyes. That Brooke girl acted like there was no hatred between the Easts and the Wests.

"There's nothing wrong with being civilized. Besides, we're all going to go to the same school. We have to start to get along sooner or later." Brooke said smiling. She could've sworn she heard Haley mumble "rather later" but she wasn't sure.

"So, about this race." Haley said. She was tired of the small talk. She saw Tim stiffen. _Interesting_… "Have you guys thought about the time or location?" Haley asked.

"My uncle's a race car driver. He owns a race track about 50 miles from here. We can use it."

"Nice." Haley said impressed.

"When do we do this?" Lucas asked.

"How about tonight?" Nathan asked. Lucas glanced at Haley. They were both thinking about the same thing. They hadn't fixed the car yet and they needed at least a week to do it.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Haley said.

"And why's that? Does your driver need practise? Well, he should 'cause our rocks!" Nathan said. Lucas noticed that Tim was standing there looking really uncomfortable.

"No, we don't need any practise." Lucas said.

"Then why not race tonight?" Nathan challenged.

"Just think about it." Haley said. "School starts on Monday. Every cop in town will be on duty tonight because it's the last Saturday before the schools officially unite. They are expecting parties, fights and accidents. If they see a huge amount of cars driving outside Tree Hill, they'll be there before we can even start the race. Trust me, we can't race this weekend. It'll be too risky." Haley finished.

"I think she's right." Peyton said. "Next weekend might be too early too. Schools have just started and they're expecting us to get crazy 'cause it's the first weekend."

"So, how about the weekend after that?" Jake asked.

"Fine by us." Nathan said.

"Us too." Haley said.

"Prepare to lose!" Tim said excited.

"Tim, no need to get like that. Remember, we are civilized." Brooke said and smiled sweetly at the Easts. A little too sweetly for Haley's taste.

"Yeah, Tim. Behave." Nathan said.

"So, any chance on telling us who your racer is?" Brooke suddenly asked with a smile.

"Hell no. But if you want to tell us yours, go ahead." Lucas said and smiled.

"I don't think so." Peyton said.

"So, the identities of the racers stay a secret." Jake said.

"That's right." Nathan said and quickly glanced at Tim.

"So, what are you guys planning on doing tonight?" Brooke suddenly asked from the Easts.

"What? Why?" Haley asked suspiciously. She couldn't help but feel really uncomfortable around Brooke.

"No reason. I just thought that you guys might have some plans since it's the last chance to party before school starts." Brooke said.

"We're getting wasted at Haley's house. It's a tradition. She brings the booze, we bring the food." Lucas said and pointed at him and Jake.

"So, it's just gonna be you guys?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, why?" Lucas asked.

"Nathan's having his annual end of the summer -party. You guys should come." Brooke said.

"We'll pass." Haley said and smiled a fake smile.

"See, Brooke. I told you they didn't have the balls to come." Nathan whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You know what? Count us in!" Lucas said. Haley turned to look at him with a death glare.

"Fantastic! It's at Nathan's beach house. You know where Hampton Drive is?"

"Yeah, Haley and I run there a lot." Lucas said.

"House number 15. Just follow the noise. The party starts at 8. See you there!" Brooke said and left with the other three.

As soon as the Wests were gone, Haley smacked Lucas on the back of his head.

"What the hell was that!" Haley asked angrily.

"Relax, Hales. This is a good thing."

"How can partying with the enemy be a good thing?" Haley asked.

"We have to get to know them. Make sure they don't try to screw us over in any way. And maybe in the process we might even find out who their racer is. Though after today I'm pretty sure who it is." Lucas said.

"Tim." Haley said and Lucas nodded.

"Did you see how nervous he got every time we mentioned the race?" Jake asked.

"We gotta be careful when we're around the Wests. They are also trying to find out who our racer is. They can't find out that it's you." Lucas said.

"Don't worry. They won't." Haley said and smiled.

"We have to be really careful. We only talk about the race when we're alone. And we won't tell anyone that Haley's the racer. Not even an East. We're the only ones who know about it. No outsiders. And Haley, I know you won't like this but you shouldn't drive until the race." Lucas finished.

"What! But how am I going to test the new car?"

"When it's done, I'll test drive it. You'll be there too but I'm gonna have to be the driver. Haley, we can't risk them seeing you drive a race car." Lucas said.

"This sucks! But you're right. Doesn't mean that I like it." Haley said and smiled a little. Then she thought of something. "Hey, since I can't drive that means one of you is going to have to stay sober tonight." Haley said grinning. The guys groaned. Haley burst out laughing.

In Nathan's car

"So, do you think they bought the act?" Brooke asked with a devilish grin.

"Totally. You were awesome, Brooke." Nathan said.

"Thank you, thank you. Nathan, you're a genius. This whole let's-be-friends-with-them is one kick ass plan!"

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Nathan said and smirked.

"This is so sweet. We'll get to know them, find out who their racer is, learn his weakness and use it against him." Brooke said excited.

"You guys are cruel." Peyton said from the backseat where she was sitting next to Brooke.

"Oh, come on Peyton. You want to beat them just as much as we want to." Nathan said.

"Actually, no I don't. I really don't even care about this race."

"Oh really, then why did you come with us today?" Brooke asked. Peyton didn't say anything. She did care about the race but she just didn't want anyone to get hurt.

"That's what I thought. You're just like we are." Brooke said.

"No, I'm not. I don't wanna see anyone get hurt." Peyton said quietly.

"No one's gonna get hurt. You may not wanna be like us, but you _are_ one of us. They are trying to do these exact same things to us but only the other side can win. It's either us or them." Brooke paused for a second. "And I choose us."

"So, are you with us?" Tim asked.

"Of course I am." she said. Brooke screamed happily and hugged Peyton.

"Good! I knew you weren't gonna leave us." Brooke said happily.

"That was quite a little speech you just gave me." Peyton said smiling.

"Why, thank you! But you know what the coolest thing is? They totally think that Tim is our racer!" Tim turned to look at Brooke.

"They do? But I was so nervous that they wouldn't think it's me."

"That's the reason they think it's you!" Brooke said excited.

"Huh?"

"Ah, nothing man. Just do what you do!" Nathan said and high-fived Tim.

"So, tonight our mission is to get to know the Easts a little bit better." Brooke said.

"We shouldn't just focus on Lucas but also Jake and that Haley girl." Nathan said.

"Why them?" Peyton asked.

"I think Jake has more power in the group then he thinks he does. He's like their emotional leader." Nathan explained.

"Why Haley?" Brooke asked.

"Little Ms. James has wrapped Lucas around her finger. The best way to mess with one's mind is to find one's weakness. And Lucas Scott's weakness is Haley James. We're not sure if Lucas is the racer but if he is, we can definitely work on the situation." Nathan ended. Plus, he didn't mind getting to know the girl a bit better.

"I'm sure they are going to be extremely cautious around us so right now all we can do is get to know them. And that's what tonight is for. Getting to know the enemy." Brooke said.

"You're right." Nathan said while dropping off the girls at Peyton's house where they were going to get ready for the party.

"See you tonight, Nate." Brooke said.

"Yeah, see ya there. Come early!" he said.

"Ok, we'll be there by six." Brooke said before slamming the door shut and running inside the house with Peyton. Nathan turned to look at Tim.

"Tonight's gonna rock."

--------

Please, review. :)

-Fes


	4. Chapter 3

Thank you all so much for the great reviews! Means the world to me. Keep 'em coming:)

Chapter 3

"Lucas, I don't wanna go." Haley whined on the phone. She was lying on her bed trying to talk some sense into Lucas.

"Oh, come on Hales. This is the perfect opportunity to get to know them. Remember, we need to find out if they're trying to screw us over." Lucas said.

"I don't care. I just don't wanna go."

"Haley, what's this really about?"

"What? I told you. I just don't wanna go. It's stupid." she said and got up from her bed. She started to pace around her room. Would Lucas know that she was lying?

"Nice try. What's going on, Hales?" he asked concerned. Haley sighed. She should've known that she couldn't lie to Lucas.

"Nothing." she said quietly.

"Come on, Haley. Tell me what's bothering you." Lucas said.

"Alright, alright! I don't have anything to wear!" she finally confessed.

"What? That's the stupidest reason not to go. Come on, I know you've got something. And since when do you care what you wear, anyway?" Lucas said.

"Since I found out I have to go to a West party. This totally sucks, Luke! Tonight's gonna be a disaster! I can feel it."

"No, it's not. And don't care about the clothes. Just put on some jeans and a shirt. Oh, and don't forget your swimsuit." Lucas said laughing. "It's time for us to have some fun, Haley."

"We have fun." she said stubbornly.

"You know what I mean. Come on, Hales. You know a party won't be a party without you."

"Awww thanks."

"You have to come. I dare you to."

"You _dare_ me? What are you, twelve?"

"Sure, if it'll make you come. Me and Jake don't-"

"Jake and I!"

"-wanna go there without you. Come one, Haleyyyyy…" Lucas said.

"Ok! Ok, I'll come!"

"Good!"

"Which one of you is driving?" Haley asked.

"Jake."

"What about Jenny? He usually never leaves her for a party. That's weird." Haley said.

"He was gonna stay home but his parents insisted that he should hang out with us tonight and have fun since it's the last chance before school starts. He's driving just to be sure that if something happens to Jenny he can always leave. Anyways, be ready at 8." Lucas said smiling.

"Bye Luke." Haley said.

"See ya then." he said before hanging up.

Few hours later

"This is a bad idea…" Haley mumbled under her breath. She was in her room trying to decide what to wear. It was almost 8. She had been on the phone with her parents who were visiting her sister Quinn in Chicago. They had told her to have fun and take care of herself. And to not have sex on the beach. Haley loved her parents but sometimes she thought she was the only mature one in their family.

Haley looked at her clothes that she had pulled from her closet. Lots of jeans, sweatshirts and sweatpants, t-shirts and soccer shorts.

"I need new clothes." she mumbled. She heard a car honk outside. She groaned and quickly chose the first pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt she found. She took her backpack and put a small bottle of vodka in there. Then she threw a bikini top and small pair of shorts in there. She ran downstairs, put on some flip flops and got in the car.

"Finally." Lucas said when Haley got into the car.

"Sorry…" she mumbled.

"No problem." Lucas said. "You ready to go?"

"Yep." Haley said.

"Alright then, let's go!" Jake said and reversed from Haley's driveway. When they got closer to the party they noticed a lot of people walking on the streets. Lots of teenagers.

"Are they all going to the party?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll see." Jake said. They drove in front of the beach house and even managed to get a parking spot close by. They got out of the car and started to walk towards the front door.

"I think we should have a signal. You know if someone wants to leave." Haley said.

"Haley-" Lucas started but Haley ignored him.

"I think we should 'caw'. Caw! Yeah, that sounds good. Caw! Caw! Caw!" Haley cawed. People were starting to stare at her.

"Haley, stop cawing. We gotcha. If we wanna leave, we caw. Now let's-"

Haley cawed.

"-just get inside and have fun. And remember, we have to get to know them. That's the only way we can find out if they're trying to pull something."

"This is a bad idea." Haley said.

"Come on, Haley. Cheer up." Jake said.

"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea." Haley repeated. She had that feeling that something horrible was going to happen.

"Yeah, you already told us. You gotta be more cheery!" Lucas said when they got to the front door.

"_Cheery_!" Haley asked while opening the front door. They saw Brooke, Peyton and Nathan and some of his buddies standing there. The whole room went quiet when they saw the Easts enter the house. Haley just stared at everyone. Then she turned to look at Lucas.

"You want cheery? I'll give you cheery." she hissed at him. Then she threw her hands in the air and yelled as load as she could in an über-cheerful voice: "Party in da house!"

She turned to look at Lucas with a sullen look. "Cheery enough?" Lucas just nodded while trying not to burst out laughing. Haley turned to look at Nathan who was still staring at her because of her little outburst.

"Where's the kitchen?" she asked. Nathan just pointed his finger towards the back of the house. Haley went there. The whole room was still quiet and watching Haley make her way towards the kitchen.

"She always this crazy?" Nathan asked from Lucas. They were both still staring after her. On her way to the kitchen she pushed some blonde hoe against the wall with one hand just because she was blocking her way.

"Man, you have no idea." Lucas said. They were both quiet for a while then suddenly turned to look at each other. Did they just have a conversation? Without any insults? Without wanting to kill each other? They both coughed and turned back to their friends.

Haley made her way into the kitchen. She needed a drink badly. She set her backpack on the kitchen counter and opened the fridge. She took a big bottle of sprite out and set it on the counter. She looked for a glass but couldn't find any so she started to go through the cabinets.

"Decided to make yourself at home, huh." Haley turned around to see Nathan smirking at her.

"Yeah, gotta problem?" she said and continued to search for a glass.

"Ooh, a feisty one. You need something?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, where the hell do you keep your glasses?" Haley asked giving up. Nathan smirked and walked towards Haley. When he was right in front of her, he raised his hand to open the cabinet above Haley's head. Without breaking eye connection, he took a glass out and handed it to Haley.

"Thanks." Haley said and looked into Nathan's eyes. She blinked, took the glass and moved back to where her backpack was and started to go through it. She pulled out a small bottle of vodka. Nathan stared at her pour a little bit of vodka on the bottom of the glass and then drink it. Then she poured some more and opened the Sprite bottle.

"Do you have to stare?" Haley spitted out.

"Yeah, gotta problem?" Nathan repeated Haley's words from earlier. Haley just rolled her eyes and poured some sprite into the glass so it was full.

"Vodka and Sprite. Nice choice."

"Thank you."

"But you didn't have to bring your own alcohol. We have 3 kegs here." he said.

"Thanks but no thanks. I don't drink beer."

"Good to know." he said. They stared at each other for a while. Haley looked around the kitchen.

"Nice kitchen." she said.

"Thanks, you want a tour around the house?" he asked. Haley didn't know what to say. Luckily she didn't have to because she noticed Lucas motioning for her to come over where he was.

"Raincheck?" Haley said while grabbing the sprite and the vodka bottles and putting them in her backpack. She took the glass that was filled with mix and took a sip.

"Yeah, sure." he said and watched her go towards Lucas.

"How's it going?" Nathan heard a whisper in his ear. He turned to see Brooke there.

"Jesus, you scared me. I didn't even hear you come behind me." he said.

"I'm sneaky. So, any success with our lil' Ms. James?" Brooke asked.

"Not much. I'm gonna give her a tour around the house later. Maybe I can get something out of her then. How about you?"

"Talked with Lucas." Brooke said nonchalantly even though she was really excited about it. "He's not saying anything relevant. I'm gonna keep working on it." she said.

"Where's Peyton?"

"I'm right here." she said behind them.

"Jesus!" Nathan said. "What's with sneakiness?" he asked from the girls.

"Any luck with Jake?" Brooke asked from Peyton ignoring Nathan's comment.

"No, he's not saying anything. He just left with Lucas and Haley. I think they were heading outside."

-------------

"So, any luck finding out if they're trying to pull something?" Haley asked from the guys. They were in their swimming suits holding their towels and walking towards the water. Lucas and Jake had some swimming shorts on and Haley was in her bikini top and a tiny pair of surfing shorts.

"No, Brooke's not saying anything."

"Neither is Peyton."

"Same goes with Nathan."

"Why are we so sure that they are up to something? I mean, Peyton seems really nice and sweet. I don't think she would do anything like that." Jake said. Lucas and Haley looked at each other and smiled.

"Someone's got a crush on a West." Haley singsonged.

"What? No! Come on."

"Dude, just confess it. It's so obvious." Lucas said.

"Sure, she's nice but even if I liked her, nothing could ever happen. There's always Jenny." Jake said.

"So what? She might be ok with the fact that you've gotta kid." Haley said.

"In what universe? Look, Jenny's the only girl in my life and that's the way it's gonna be." Jake said ending the conversation.

"Ok. But you know, if you did wanna date the girl we'd totally accept it, you know. Now that the schools are united there's no west and east really left anymore." Lucas said. Haley and Jake smiled at each other.

"You did not just say that!" Haley said horrified.

"Luke, is that your way of asking our permission to date a West?" Jake asked laughing.

"What? No!" Lucas said choking.

"Dude, you're a terrible liar."

"I'm not lying! Besides, who would I even date?" Lucas asked.

"Like someone by the name of Brooke Davis? I saw you talking to her. You were totally into her. You were actually blushing!" Jake said. Haley burst out laughing.

"Haley, stop laughing!"

"I just can't help it. The thought of you and her together is just so funny. And so unlike." she said while trying to stop laughing. Without succeeding in it.

"Well, what about you and Nathan? Now, there's a funny couple." Jake said laughing.

"What!" Lucas yelled angrily. He didn't want Haley dating his ass of a half-brother. "Haley, please don't tell me you actually like the guy." Lucas said.

"No! He's the biggest asshole in the county." Haley said quickly.

"Good. 'Cause I don't want you dating him. You can do so much better." Lucas said.

"Don't worry. There's nothing going on between us. I was just making conversation. You know, getting to know the enemy like you wanted." she said more to herself than to Lucas. She couldn't help but feel intrigued by Nathan and she didn't even know why.

"Good." They were now almost in the water. They stopped.

"I'm so not gonna swim." Haley said changing the subject. The guys looked at each other with a devilish grin. Slowly they started to walk closer to Haley. She noticed that and looked at them suspiciously.

"What are you guys do- You're gonna throw me in the water, aren't you." the guys didn't say anything. Haley started to back down from the guys while they walked towards her.

"Well, you're gonna have to catch me first!" she yelled and started to run as fast as she could. The guys sprinted after her. Catching her turned out to be harder then they thought. She wasn't faster than the guys but she was so small that she was able to slip away whenever they thought they had her. Finally the guys caught her. Lucas took a hold of her hands and Jake grabbed her legs and they started to drag her towards the water.

"Let me go!" Haley was yelling and laughing at the same time. They finally reached the water.

"Jake, you ready? On three!" Lucas said. "One. Two. Three!" they threw a screaming Haley in the water. She quickly got up and started to run after Lucas and Jake. She tackled Jake in the water and together they got Lucas. They were having so much fun that they didn't notice four pairs of eyes following their every move.

Brooke, Peyton, Tim and Nathan were sitting on the porch watching them.

"It's like Dawson's Creek. Only so much worse." Brooke said in disgust when she saw Lucas hugging Haley before pushing her in the water.

"Oh, come on Brooke." Peyton said. "They're just having fun."

"Well, it's annoying for the rest of us. Who invited them anyway?" she said. Nathan and Peyton both turned to look at Brooke. "Ok, so I did. I wonder if you can un-invite someone." she mumbled while staring at Haley.

"I thought they weren't dating anyone." Tim said.

"They're not." Nathan said. "Brooke's just jealous."

"What? I'm not jealous! And even if I were, which I'm not, I definitely wouldn't be jealous of her." Brooke said the last word with disgust.

"Come on, it's so obvious. You've got the hots for Lucas Scott. An East!" Peyton said smiling.

"Oh, you two are ones to talk! You-" Brooke pointed at Peyton. "-are totally into that Jake. And you-" she pointed at Nathan. "-have been staring at that Haley girl ever since she got in the house. So, I may find an East attractive but I'm not the only one." She finished and they all turned to stare at Lucas, Jake and Haley. They were sitting on the beach apparently talking about something funny about Haley because Lucas and Jake were laughing out loud and Haley was holding her head in embarrassment.

"...and then she hit her mailbox!" Lucas finished telling the story to Jake and they were both laughing out loud.

"Luke! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!" Haley said trying not to laugh.

"Oh, come one Hales! You know Jake doesn't count." He said.

"Yeah..." she said. "But seriously, I don't want anyone else to know. I mean it!" she said seriously.

"We promise not to tell anyone." They both said. Suddenly Jake's cell phone started to ring. He looked at the caller id and answered the phone with a worried look.

"Dad, is everything ok?... Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can." Jake said and hung up. He turned to look at them with a serious face.

"Caw?" Haley cawed lightly.

"Is everything alright?" Lucas asked concerned.

"Umh actually no." He said and got up. "Jenny's got a fever." Jake said shaking.

"Oh no! I'm sure she's gonna be fine." Haley said.

"Yeah.. Listen guys, I gotta go home. Can you get a ride from someone else?" Jake asked.

"Of course but we could come with you." Lucas offered.

"No, no. You guys stay here. Have fun."

"Are you sure?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He said. Haley hugged him goodbye.

"Call us." Lucas said. Jake nodded and turned to run back in the house to get his stuff. Peyton saw him get inside the house.

"Umh, I'm gonna get a drink." She said and left. She saw Jake put his shirt on and gather his stuff.

"You leaving already?" Peyton asked disappointed.

"Yeah... Got a family emergency..." Jake mumbled.

"Again? You had one the other day when we were at River court." Peyton said confused. Jake just stared at her. He suddenly got a strong urge to tell her the truth about Jenny. He shook the feeling off.

"It's none of your business." He said harshly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to hit a nerve." She said quietly and left the room with a hurt look on her face. Jake was about to go after her when he remembered Jenny. Apologising to Peyton would just have to wait.

-------------

"I hope Jenny's ok." Lucas said. Lucas and Haley were walking slowly back to the house.

"Yeah... Oh my god." Haley suddenly said and stopped. Lucas turned to look at her.

"What?"

"I was right. I told you something bad was gonna happen tonight! I told you I had that feeling." Haley said.

"Come on, it's just a coincidence." Lucas said.

"I don't believe in coincidences." Haley said.

"You also don't believe in commercial breaks and fat free food."

"I'm a psychic." Haley said ignoring Lucas' comment.

"You're a psycho." Lucas emphasized the last letters. "There's a difference." He said when they got inside the room they left their stuff in.

"Where the hell am I gonna change?" Haley mumbled while making sure the vodka and sprite bottles were still in her backpack.

"I'm gonna go find a bathroom to change and then get a drink. I'll talk to you later." Lucas said.

"You're not gonna leave me alone, are you?" Haley asked with a panicked voice.

"You want me to stay here while you change?" Lucas asked with a weird voice.

"No! God, hell no!" Haley said laughing. Lucas sighed in relief.

"Good, because that would've been just too weird." Lucas said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Too Dawson and Joey for my taste. I meant that I hope you're hanging out with me at the party and not leaving me alone." Haley said.

"Actually I was thinking about trying to get to know the Wests a little bit better." Lucas said.

"You're kidding, right?" Haley asked. Lucas just smiled apologetically.

"Unbelievable!" Haley said and threw her hands in the air in frustration.

"Haley, we came here to get to know them, remember?" Lucas said.

"I know. I just didn't know I was supposed to get to know them by myself." Haley whined. She saw Lucas smiling at her in sympathy. She hated that.

"But I understand. Ditching your best friend for some West whore is apparently more important to you." Haley said in an overdramatic voice and smiled at him, letting him know she was joking.

"Yeah, you can totally see through me." Lucas joked.

"I know, I'm psychic, remember?" Haley said grinning.

"Yes, I remember you're a psycho." Lucas said laughing.

"Whatever, now go make some friends." Haley said and started to lightly push him out of the room.

"Ok, ok, I'm going. See you here in a few hours." He said before disappearing from the room. Haley sighed deeply and looked around the room. There was no way in hell she was gonna leave the room until Lucas came back. It was a small room with a direct access to the beach. It had a few chairs and a table in it along with a small kitchen. She noticed the kitchen and went to find a glass from the cabinets. She heard the door open and turned around to find a sad looking Peyton coming in. She froze when she saw her.

"Oh, I didn't know anyone was here." She said and started to go.

"No, it's ok. You can stay." Haley said remembering that she was supposed to get to know them. She also remembered Jake telling her that Peyton seemed really nice.

"If you're sure." Peyton said quietly and sat down on one of the chairs. Haley came back with two glasses.

"You want a drink?" Haley asked.

"Sure." Peyton said. Haley set the glasses on table and poured some vodka and sprite in them.

"Cheers." Haley said when she lifted the glass in the air. Peyton did the same and both took a drink. Haley saw Peyton looking sad.

"Are you ok?" Haley asked quietly. "I know it's not my place to ask since we barely even know each other..." Haley mumbled. Peyton smiled a small smile at Haley and drank some of the mix.

"I'm fine. Just a little sad."

"Something you wanna talk about?" Haley asked.

"Naw, it's nothing big. This guy I kinda like was pretty mean to me tonight." Peyton said not wanting to tell any details because she didn't want Haley to find out she was talking about Jake.

"I'm sorry." Haley said sincerely.

"Thanks." Peyton said quietly. "Guys suck!" she suddenly said louder. Haley started to laugh.

"I don't think I'm the person you should be talking about this." Haley said smiling.

"Why?" Peyton asked.

"All of my friends are guys." Haley said.

"How does that work? Who do you go when you want to talk about girly stuff?" Peyton asked while sipping the drink Haley gave her.

"Like what?" Haley asked.

"Like... let's say shopping."

"I don't shop."

"Ok, how about make up?"

"Have you seen my face? I don't wear make up."

"Ok, how about when you have your period and you feel like crap?" Peyton challenged while drinking her mix.

"The guys usually know when I have my period. Then they avoid me for 5 days." Haley saw Peyton looking confused.

"I get moody when I'm PMSing." Haley said.

"So what? We all do."

"Naw, it's more than that with me. I get really moody." Haley said emphasizing the word 'really'.

"So you do what, yell at people? That's normal." Peyton said.

"With me it's more like throwing stuff." Haley said.

"What?" Peyton asked laughing. "What do you throw?"

"Well, now that the guys know to stay away from me, I don't throw that much stuff anymore. But once, I think it was like 3 years ago, I threw an ash tray at Jake."

"You're kidding." Peyton said laughing.

"It hit him in the head. He's still got a small scar above his left eyebrow." Haley said smiling.

"That's funny." Peyton said and drank some more. She'd like to throw an ash tray at Jake right about now.

"I think I just had my first girl talk." Haley said smiling.

"I feel honored." She said smiling back. Haley noticed that Peyton's glass was empty.

"Jesus, you drink fast! Mine's still half empty."

"Half full." Peyton said and smiled.

"Whatever. Wanna refill?"

"You betcha." She said smirking.

"We need some music here." Haley mumbled while pouring more alcohol.

"Hey, I can fix that." Peyton said and got up quickly. She almost fell back on the chair when she felt the alcohol's effect.

"You ok?" Haley asked smiling.

"Yeah, that's some good shit you got there." She said while pointing at the vodka. "I know Nate keeps a cd-player somewhere here." She said and started to look for it.

"Found it and there's also some burned cd inside so we don't have to go back in the house to get one." Peyton said happily while holding the cd-player. She plugged it and pushed "play". Some rap song started to play.

"Ugh, I hate rap. They all sound the same." Peyton said. "All the rappers are so full of themselves. Like the one we're listening to. Who the hell is he anyway?" Peyton wondered.

"Nas." Haley said while taking a sip.

"What?"

"Nas. The one who we're listening to."

"How do you know?" Peyton asked.

"The guys." Haley just answered. Peyton finished her drink.

"Shit, you're fast." Haley said.

"It's hot in here." Peyton said. "Are you hot?"

"Well, I would like to think I'm pretty attractive." Haley joked. Peyton looked at her confused.

"No. I don't feel hot." Haley said laughing while watching Peyton grab the vodka bottle and pour herself another drink.

"Woah! Not so much vodka." Haley said and took the bottle from her. She poured as much Sprite as she could on Peyton's glass. Peyton was clearly getting drunk.

"I wonder why." Peyton said.

"Why what?"

"You're not hot."

"That's because I'm wearing bikinis and a pair of shorts while you're wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt." Haley said laughing.

"It's so hot in here." Peyton said.

"I have a t-shirt in my backpack. You want to wear that?"

"Yeah!" Peyton said happily. She threw her shirt off so fast Haley didn't even have time to blink.

"Looks like you've got some practise on that." Haley grinned while taking her t-shirt out of her backpack. She gave it to Peyton. Peyton was about to put in on when she suddenly ran to the cd-player and turned the volume up.

"I love this song!" she yelled when she heard 'Let's Get Retarded' by Black Eyed Peas on the cd-player. She stood up on the other chair and started to dance.

"Come on, Haley! Dance with me." Peyton started to pull Haley towards the chair.

"Oh no no no no! I don't dance. Ever." She said.

"Oh come on!" she said and wouldn't let go of her. Haley sighed and remembered Lucas' words about having fun tonight.

"Oh, fuck it." She said and took a big sip straight from the vodka bottle. She let out a small "Woo!" and climbed on the chair with Peyton and started to dance.

-----------

"Nate, we're out of orange juice." Tim said. He and Nathan were standing on the balcony on the second floor.

"Where's everyone?"

"Starting the bonfire. Nate. Orange juice. Out.

"What do you need orange juice for?" Nate asked.

"To mix with vodka."

"Use Sprite." He said remembering Haley.

"But orange juice is better." Tim whined.

"I think we have some juice in the other kitchen."

"You have another kitchen here somewhere?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, we never use it though. It's downstairs where you get off from beach." Tim was still looking confused.

"Just follow me." Nathan said.

"You're da bomb!" Tim yelled.

"Tim, just say thanks." Nathan said and left.

"Thanks!" Tim yelled and caught up with Nathan. They walked downstairs. When they got closer to the other kitchen, they could hear loud music coming from the room. Nathan looked at Tim confused.

"I thought you said everyone was on the beach."

"That's what I thought." Tim said. Nathan and Tim opened the door and stepped inside. The sight was far better than neither of them could imagine.

Haley and Peyton were standing on a small chair and dancing. They were singing Black Eyed Peas so loud they didn't see or hear the door open. Haley was only wearing a bikini top with a tiny pair of shorts. Peyton, who was clearly the more drunk one, was wearing a pair of jeans and nothing but a bra. Tim and Nathan stared at them their mouths open.

"Yeah, baby!" Tim finally got the words out of his mouth. Haley and Peyton turned to look at the guys. Peyton jumped from the chair, turned the volume down and went to hug the guys. Haley sat down and poured some more vodka for herself.

"Woah! You're drunk, Peyton!" Tim said and hugged the girl back.

"I know. Haley here gave me some vodka. Thank you, Haleyyyy!" Peyton said and smiled a big smile.

"You're welcome. You might wanna put a shirt on." She said grinning. Peyton looked down and realized she was only wearing a bra.

"Oops! Can I still wear yours, Haley? Please? Pleaseeeeee?" Peyton asked.

"Sure." She said.

"Thanks!" she said and put Haley's shirt on. She smiled a big smile then suddenly her face went pale. She put her hands over her mouth. "I don't feel so good." She said before running out of the room. Haley just shook her head in amusement and took another sip from her drink.

"I'm gonna go check on Blondie." Tim said and left the room. Nathan turned to look at Haley. He couldn't help but notice that the girl was hot.

"Is this seat taken?" Nathan said and pointed at the other chair.

"Does it look taken?" Haley challenged. Nathan just smirked and sat down.

"Nice outfit, by the way." Nathan said and smirked when he saw Haley blush a little bit.

"Thanks." She just mumbled.

"So, what's a pretty girl like you doing inside?" Nathan said smirking. Haley just snorted.

"Does that line ever work?" Haley asked.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me." He said and winked. Haley didn't answer, just smiled a little.

"Nice beach house you got here." Haley said politely.

"Thanks. How about that tour?" Nathan asked smirking.

"You know, I might just take you up on your offer." Haley said and got up.

"Oh baby, you can take me anytime anywhere." Nathan said smirking. Haley shook head in amusement.

"But I need to change into my jeans first." Haley mumbled while getting.

"But I like your shorts." Nathan whined but immediately grinned when he checked out Haley's _a_ss when she bent down to get her jeans from her backpack.

"Sad. Now go wait outside." Haley said and pushed him out of the room. She quickly changed her shorts into her jeans, put her cell phone in her pocket and stepped out of the room.

"You ready?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah." She said and they left.

--------------------

"... then we ran out of gas and had to hitchhike the rest of the way home." Brooke finished telling Lucas a story.

"You serious? I could never hitchhike. If it were me, I'd probably end up walking the whole way back." They both laughed. They were standing on the terrace looking at the beach and talking about everything.

"So, tell me. Are you and that Haley girl dating?" Brooke asked grinning.

"No, we're not dating and we never have. Haley's my best friend. Has been since we were 8." Lucas said and smiled when he pictured Haley there getting angry at the question.

"Good to know." Brooke said and winked.

"So, how about you. You dating anyone?" Lucas asked nonchalantly. Brooke looked at him and grinned.

"Why? You wanna ask me out?" Brooke flirted. Lucas looked around to make sure Haley wasn't anywhere close.

"Maybe." He said and winked.

"Well, FYI, I'm not dating anyone. And yes, I would love to go out." Brooke said and smiled at Lucas.

--------------

"What's this room?" Haley asked. She and Nathan were touring the beach house.

"A guest room." Nathan said and closed the door.

"Another? So, you've got 3 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, a family room, a living room which is by the way the size of my entire house, a 3-car garage and a balcony." Haley counted. Then she turned to look at Nathan.

"You rich bastards." She said and they both started to laugh.

"Just remember that money can't buy happiness." Nathan said.

"Well, it can buy you a 42-inch plasma TV and a beach house. And that would make me very happy." Haley said joking. "I'm just kidding. I may not have a brand new car or a mansion but I love my house. It's got everything I need, you know." She said quietly.

"Family's important." Nathan said. Haley and Nathan both sighed when they thought about their own more or less disfunctional families.

"Sometimes families suck." Haley said and they laughed.

"Amen to that. You want a drink?" Nathan asked when they got to the kitchen.

"Yeah, I think I left mine in the other kitchen." Haley said.

"What do we have here..." Nathan mumbled while they opened the fridge.

"Ooh! Someone made margaritas!" Haley said excited and took the whole pint out.

"Yeah, that'd be Peyton." Nathan said.

"Well, she ain't drinking that tonight." Haley grinned and took two glasses out of the cabinet. Nathan filled their glasses. They started to walk towards the bonfires. It was already dark outside so the only thing they could see was the fire from th  
e bonfires.

"You want smores?" Nathan asked.

"Ooh, I love smores." Haley said excited.

"I take that as a yes." He said and laughed and went to get them some. Haley sat down on the warm sand close to the bonfire and hugged her knees while sipping her margarita. A second later Nathan came back with two warm smores.

"Where did you get these? These are warm already." Haley asked.

"I stole some freshman's." Nathan said and shrugged. Haley just laughed and took a bite. They sat in silence for a while. Suddenly Haley's cell phone started to ring. She looked at the caller id.

"It's my dad. Can you hold my glass?" She asked and gave her glass to Nathan before answering. She flipped the phone open and answered it. "Hey dad, how's Quinn?... Yes, I'm at the party... No... No... Of course not... No... No! God, dad! What kind of a person do you think I am!... Very funny... Love you too. Say hi to Quinn and Mom... Bye." Haley flipped the phone shut and sighed.

"Your parents are out of town?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, they went to visit my sister in Chicago."

"You staying home alone?"

"Yeah, I used to go over to Lucas' house but ever since I realized I can take care of myself, I've stayed home. I just didn't wanna bother them." Haley said and Nathan wondered how she could possibly bother anyone. "It just gets a little lonely sometimes." Haley finished silently.

"I barely see my mom." Nathan started. "She's always out of town working. And the more my mom's gone, the more of a pain my dad is." Nathan said playing with the sand.

"Your dad's hard on you?" Haley asked.

"Yeah..." Nathan said and mumbled. "He just takes basketball way too seriously."

"I'm sorry." Haley said and shivered a little bit. She was still only wearing her bikini top and jeans because Peyton was wearing her shirt. She hugged her knees to keep herself warm.

"You're cold." Nathan said and took his sweatshirt off and offered it to Haley.

"Oh, I'm fine. Keep it. I don't want you to get cold." Haley said.

"No, I'm good. Really. Just take it." Nathan said and then added. "Besides, it'll look better on you anyway." Nathan smirked and Haley just rolled her eyes while taking the light blue sweater from him. She put it on and couldn't help but inhale Nathan's cologne deeply from the sweatshirt. She smiled at Nathan and swallowed the rest of her margarita.

"Wow, you drink fast! How much have you drank tonight?" Nathan asked.

"Some vodka and this."

"But you're not drunk!"

"If hanging out all my life with guys have taught me one thing, it's how to handle my alcohol." She said and winked.

"Yeah, apparently." He said and smiled at Haley.

"I should probably go find Lucas." Haley said then.

"Already?" Nathan asked disappointed.

"Yeah, I have to work at noon tomorrow." She said and got up. Nathan got up too.

"Ok, I'll help you find him." He said and they started to walk towards the house.

"Thanks, Nathan." Haley suddenly said.

"For what?"

"For keeping me entertained." Haley said and then added. "And for not being an _a_sshole." She smiled.

"Don't get used to it." Nathan said and smirked.

"I promise I won't." She said and winked back.

He opened the door for her that lead to the room where Haley and Lucas' stuff were. She collected them and went to find Lucas.

"Where the hell is he?" she said when they left the room. They saw Tim and some of his basketball buddies.

"Yo, Nate man! We've been looking for you! Where you been?" Tim said and tried to do a weird hand shake thing with Nathan. Nathan just stared at him annoyed.

"Nowhere." He said quickly. Tim looked at Haley who was wearing Nathan's sweatshirt.

"Where you hanging out with her? An East?" Tim asked looking at Haley. She just raised her eyebrow at Nathan who was looking really uncomfortable. He wasn't ready to admit to his friends, or himself, that he was attracted to an East.

"No way." Nathan said and smiled a fake smile.

"But she's wearing your sweatshirt." Tim said. Nathan thought for a moment about telling the truth.

"Don't know where she got that." He finally said and looked down. He couldn't look at Haley in the eyes. If looks could kill, Nathan would've died a thousand painful deaths. Haley suddenly smiled sweetly. Then she took the sweatshirt off. The guys whistled when they saw that she only had her bikini top on. Haley turned to look at Nathan with the same death glare from few seconds ago.

"Good thing I didn't get used to the niceness, huh." She said coldly and dropped the sweatshirt. She started to walk away from them. She went upstairs and tried to find Lucas. She looked from a window but only saw a couple making out on the balcony. She then looked from the kitchen, the living room and family room. She then went back to the balcony.

"Luke! You here?" she yelled. She then walked around the corner and saw Lucas and Brooke looking at her with weird looks. Haley didn't think about it more. She just wanted to leave.

"Caw." She said when Lucas didn't say anything. That seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.

"Haley! Is everything-? What are you-? Where have you-? Why are you wearing-? What time-?" Lucas couldn't finish a sentence.

"Caw!" Haley cawed again. "We're leaving."

"Already?" Lucas asked looking at Brooke. "But-"

"Luke." Haley said quietly and looked at him with a tired face.

"Hales, is everything ok?" Lucas asked and started to walk towards Haley. Haley looked at him sadly but didn't say anything because Brooke was there.

"Luke, can we just go?" she asked. She saw Nathan walking towards them. "Now!"

"Yeah, sure. Just hold on." He said and turned around to say something to Brooke.

"Haley, can I talk to you?" Nathan asked quietly. He was looking at Haley with an apologetic face.

"Luke, now!" Haley yelled ignoring Nathan.

"Haley, please. Just hear me out." Nathan pleaded. Lucas heard it and walked next to Haley.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Nothing. Can we go?" Haley asked and looked at Lucas. Lucas looked at Haley who was looking miserable and then Nathan who was looking apologetic and embarrassed.

"Sure, Brooke promised to drive us." Lucas said.

"Great, I'll go wait in the car." She said wanting to get away from Nathan. Brooke followed her. Nathan was about to go after them but Lucas grabbed his arm.

"What the fuck, man?" Nathan yelled angrily. Lucas pushed him against the wall and took a strong hold from his shirt.

"What the hell did you do to Haley?" he asked angrily.

"Nothing." He said and tried to push Lucas away from him. No luck.

"You can try and mess with my head as much as you want to but you leave Haley out of it!"

"Whatever, dude!" he said a little bit scared but then grinned when he saw Tim and his pals coming behind Lucas.

"Is there a problem, Nate?" Tim asked. Nathan and Lucas didn't answer.

"Well, is there a problem?" Nathan asked from Lucas. Lucas didn't move.

"Luke, what's taking so-" Haley started but stopped when she saw the scene in front of her.

"Go wait in the car, Haley." Lucas said without turning around.

"The hell I am. Come on, Luke. Let's go." Haley said and then added. "He's not worth it." Haley said and looked directly at Nathan. Lucas let go off Nathan.

"Stay the fuck away from her." he said with a serious face before turning around and leaving with Haley. Nathan watched them leave and could distantly hear Lucas' voice.

"Where the hell is your shirt?"

So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Please, lemme know. :)

-Fes-


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I hate school." Brooke mumbled. She, Peyton, Nathan and Tim were standing on the parking lot, looking at the school. It was Monday, the first day of school. She had had an awesome time at the party. She and Lucas had kissed, well more like made out the entire night, but what pissed Brooke off was that Lucas didn't want to tell anyone about them. He had told her that Haley couldn't know about them because she would get upset. Brooke didn't really understand but all she cared about was being with Lucas.

"Tell me about it." Nathan said. He hadn't talked to Haley since the party. He could still remember her cold voice when he told Lucas he wasn't worth the fight. He felt bad about what he did and wanted to apologize. He just had a feeling that she wouldn't make it easy. Just then he saw Lucas' truck drive to the parking lot. Haley was sitting next to him.

"I love school!" Haley said excited. She and Lucas were sitting in his car, driving towards school.

"Calm down, Hales." Lucas said smiling.

"I can't! I heard the library is twice the size we used to have and that they actually have a tutoring center! Can you believe it? A tutoring center!" Haley said. Lucas didn't answer.

"And look at the size of the parking lot! I bet you even I could park my car here!" Haley said when they got there.

"I wouldn't go that far." Lucas said grinning. "Hey, there's Brooke." Lucas said happily. "And Peyton and Tim and Nathan." Lucas quickly added when he saw Haley looking at him with weird face.

"Great…" she mumbled. Lucas parked the car next to the foursome. Haley jumped out of the car quickly without looking at Nathan. Lucas went to catch up with Brooke.

"Haley, hi!" Peyton said.

"Hey! I'm so sorry I left you by yourself on Saturday." Haley said feeling guilty.

"Oh, don't worry about it. After I puked the third time I was actually feeling pretty good. Here. I washed it, don't worry." She said while handing Haley's shirt back to her.

"Nice." Haley said and high fived Peyton. Haley turned to look at Lucas who was still talking with Brooke.

"Luke! Come on, let's go." Haley said to Lucas and linked arms with Peyton. They started to walk towards the school. Tim and Nathan stood there for a while by themselves.

"Haley's hot." Tim said. Nathan glared at him.

"What? She is!" Tim said.

"Stay away from her." Nathan said and started to walk towards the school.

-------

"Welcome to Tree Hill High School!" the principal was giving his speech in the gymnasium. The whole school was there.

"This year will be exciting in every way. For the first time in over 50 years Tree Hill will only have one high school. We understand that the change will not be easy but me and the whole staff are here for you, trying to make it as easy as possible. Some things will stay the same, some things will change. All I need is your cooperation. Just remember, there is only one Tree Hill High. Go Ravens!" the principal ended his speech.

"Go Ravens!" Haley mimicked the principal's voice. Jake chuckled. Since their names were close alphabetically, they had the same home room. And that was where they were heading.

"And did you hear him say 'me and the whole staff'? God, I just wanted to scream 'the whole staff and I'. I mean seriously, how hard can be it be!" Haley said annoyed. Jake laughed.

------

"This sucks. Why the hell do I have to have the same last name as him?" Nathan said to Tim when they saw Lucas entering the room.

"I think it has something to do with your father." Tim said answering Nathan's question.

"Tim, it was a rhetorical question." Nathan said. Tim looked at him confused. "Never mind."

"Good morning class and welcome to Tree Hill High. I'm Mrs. Hunter and I'm your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year. Now, I understand that it won't be easy to adjust to only one high school but you're just going to have to try. The school board has thought about this situation a lot and have come to a conclusion that the only way to stay in control is to use a zero tolerance policy." the class groaned.

"That means that if you get into a fight, you will be suspended for two weeks and you can't attend any sports for the rest of the year. And since all of you are seniors and some of you may consider sports as your future-" Mrs. Hunter looked at the Scott brothers. "-I strongly advice you to keep the personal crap to yourselves." she said. "Got it? Now to the good news. The school board feels that the students should be able to celebrate the unification of the high schools. That's why they have decided to hold a ball called 'the Weast'. A word you get when you combine West and East. You will still have Homecoming and Prom so no worries. The school board feels like the upcoming weekend is too early, so 'the Weast' will be held next weekend. Friday, to be exact." the class cheered. Mrs. Hunter smiled.

"Don't party yet. There's a catch." the students groaned. "This ball is mandatory for all juniors and seniors. You also have to have a date. And since the whole idea of this ball is to strengthen the school spirit, your date cannot be from the same school you used to go. To make it simple, if you were a West your date has to be a former East. Mrs. Hunter finished and smiled at the crushed looks on their faces. "Class dismissed." she finished and smiled. The students gathered their stuff and left the room.

"Nathan Scott." the teacher said when Nathan was about to leave the room.

"Yeah?"

"The principal wants to talk to you. Now." she said.

"Fine." he said and started towards the principal's office. When he got there, he knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"You wanted to see me." Nathan said bored.

"Yes. Please, sit down Mr. Scott." Nathan sat down.

"I've been looking through your file here and I noticed that your grades suck, as you kids say these days." he said.

"So? I've always passed the classes, haven't I?" Nathan said.

"True, but I'm also aware that that was possible because of your status in the basketball team. Well, since there is only one school left that means that there are twice as many basketball players."

"What are you saying?" Nathan asked.

"This year will be different in a lot of ways. And one of them is that I will make sure that the teachers won't let anyone pass a test just because they are good at sports. I know that studying can be quite challenging, especially if you're used to getting away with it. That's why I have assigned you a tutor."

"What! No way!" Nathan said.

"Well, in that case you cannot play basketball."

"What? It's my senior year! If I can't play, I can't get a scholarship!" Nathan said.

"If you want to play basketball on the school team, you will accept the tutoring."

"Fine." Nathan said.

"Good. You will meet with your tutor every day at least till the end of the semester. I have cleared 7th period for both of you so you won't miss any classes."

"Great. Where?"

"You'll meet at the tutoring center." he said and gave him the paper where all the information was. Nathan put the paper slip angrily in his pocket.

"Great, can I go now?" Nathan asked.

"Just one more thing. I will be watching you closely Mr. Scott. It's not enough to just meet with your tutor daily. You have to work for your grades. If I don't see them get any better, it's goodbye basketball." the principal said.

"Whatever." He mumbled while getting out of the office.

Few hours later

"Hey, Luke." Brooke said and sat down next to him who was sitting opposite of Jake. They were enjoying their 45-minute-lunch break in the school cafeteria. Peyton looked uncomfortable standing there so she sat down next to Brooke.

"Hey! How's your day been so far?" Lucas asked.

"Good." She said and smiled. Jake was feeling uncomfortable. He still owed Peyton an apology but he didn't want to do it in front of everyone else. He spotted Haley walking into the cafeteria.

"Haley! Over here!" Jake yelled loudly. Few people around him turned to stare at him.

"Geez, happy to see me or what? Hey, Peyton!" she said when she sat down next to Jake.

"Hey guys, have you seen the N-man?" Tim asked behind them.

"The N-man?" Haley asked.

"No Tim, we haven't seen Nathan." Peyton said and smiled at Haley. Tim sat down next to her.

"Why doesn't he just say Nathan?" Jake said.

"Because he's a retard." Haley said while opening her water bottle and taking a sip.

"You're mean!" Tim said and stood up. He went to sit next to Peyton.

"Whatever." Haley said.

"Hey, Nate-ster!" Tim said to Nathan who was walking towards them.

"Tim, just say Nathan." Nathan said. He started to look for a place to sit. It was a table for six and there were already 4 people sitting on the other side, he had no choice but to sit next to Haley.

"Hi, Haley." Nathan said quietly.

"Whatever." She mumbled and started to open her brown paper bag.

"Whatcha got there, Hales?" Jake asked.

"The usual." She said and started to take her lunch out. She took out a subway sandwich, a bagel, a small Tupperware box containing mac and cheese, few pieces of brownies and an apple.

"Jesus, eat much?" Peyton asked laughing.

"You want a brownie?" Haley asked from Peyton ignoring her comment.

"Sure, but seriously. What's with the food?"

"I'm a hungry girl and I love food." She said while taking a bite from the sandwich.

"But, you're not fat. Why are you not fat?" Tim said. Haley rolled her eyes at the question.

"Good metabolism." Haley said while eating some mac and cheese. Tim looked confused. He obviously didn't know what 'metabolism' meant.

"Ooh! Mac and Cheese!" Lucas said when he noticed Haley's lunch. Haley quickly took the small container and held it closer to herself while glaring at Lucas.

"Hands off! My food!" she said.

"Oh come on, Hales! You know you make the best mac and cheese!" Lucas said.

"Why, thank you." She said and smiled. "But the answer's no." she said while eating some of the yellow food and glaring at Lucas who was staring at the food.

"Hales, can I finish your sandwich?" Jake asked while grabbing the sandwich.

"Sure, Jake. There's no mayo in it though." Haley said apologetically. Lucas looked at them annoyed. Peyton, Nathan, Tim and Brooke just laughed.

"You just gave Jake your sandwich." Brooke said smiling.

"Yeah, Luke's used to it." Haley said and smirked at Lucas while eating more mac and cheese.

"Haley always favors Jake when it comes to food." Lucas said pouting.

"Oh, cry me a river." Haley said smiling. Lucas just pouted some more.

They spend the rest of the lunch break eating and talking about school, the teachers, the Weast etc. It was about five minutes before the end of the lunch hour when they all started to leave the table. Jake looked at Peyton who was about to leave.

"Hey, Peyton. Do you have a minute?" Jake asked. Peyton looked around and saw that everyone else was already gone.

"Yeah, sure." She said quietly.

"I'm really sorry about last Saturday. I was really rude and you didn't deserve it." Jake said.

"It's ok. Like you said, it was none of my business." Peyton said.

"No, it was not ok. You were simply curious and I was a jerk. I'm really sorry about that." Jake said. Peyton smiled a little.

"You're forgiven." She said and they started to walk towards their lockers. "So, why did you have to leave so soon?" Peyton asked. Jake bit his lip and looked at the ground. He couldn't tell her.

"Just a family emergency." Jake said quietly. Peyton looked at him.

"It's ok, you don't have to tell." She said and they both smiled. They stopped in front of Jake's locker. "Besides, I'm gonna find out one way or the other." She winked and left. Haley, whose locker was next to Jake's turned to look at him.

"What was that about?"

"She's starting to get nosy about Jenny." Jake said and opened his locker.

"You gonna tell her?" she asked. Jake looked at Haley with a sad face. They both knew he couldn't tell anyone. Haley smiled and hooked arms with him.

"Let's go, Jaglieski. Algebra waits."

"Oh, the joy." He said sarcastically.

It was the beginning of 7th period and Nathan was sitting inside the tutoring center. He couldn't believe he had to do this for the entire semester. Could it get any worse?

"Sorry, I'm late! I had to get some-" Haley stopped in mid sentence. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked angrily.

"Well, nice to see you too. What are you doing here?" Nathan said.

"I'm a tutor. This is a tutoring center. You do the math." she said sarcastically. Nathan just stared at her. Then his eyes got wider and he started to go through his pockets. He finally found the piece of paper from the principal. He quickly read it.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." Nathan mumbled while reading the paper.

"What?" Haley asked annoyed. Nathan just gave her the paper. She started to read it. Suddenly her eyes went wide

"Oh, hell no! This is not happening!" she yelled and stormed out of the room with the paper in her hands. Nathan watched her leave. 10 minutes later she came back.

"So, it appears that I am your tutor." Haley said and shuddered. Nathan was about to say something but Haley spoke first. "Listen to me. I don't wanna be your tutor and I'm sure you don't wanna be my tutee." Haley said and couldn't help but laugh at the word. Nathan smiled at her.

"Tutee… It's just so funny…" She laughed but then got serious. "Anyway! But since I'm planning on staying as a tutor for the rest of the year and get the full credit, I'm gonna have to tutor you. And since I'm always professional, I will put aside our personal differences and help you the best way I can. But it's not gonna be easy. I'm not gonna do your homework or text message you the answers when you have a test. I'm simply helping. Is that clear?" Haley asked.

"Yeah." Nathan said.

"Great. So according to this paper you will need help with math, history and English." Haley said while taking a seat opposite from Nathan.

"Yeah… But before we start I gotta say something." Nathan said and continued without waiting for her answer. "I'm really sorry about what happened on Saturday."

"Let's not talk about it, ok?" Haley said through gritted teeth.

"I need you to know that I'm really sorry. I don't know why I said that." Nathan said.

"Oh, you don't? Well, I do. You were embarrassed to be seen with an East. With me. That's what happened." she said angrily.

"I'm sorry! I really am. It's just that there's all this pressure. I just can't start dating an East."

"Who said anything about dating? You were embarrassed to just being seen with me."

"It wasn't you. It was just because you're an East."

"Whatever." Haley said and opened the history book.

"Haley-"

"Stop it, Nathan. I'm not gonna start fighting with you again. Let's just forget about the whole thing and focus on history, ok."

"Ok but for the record, I am sorry." he said.

"Apology noted. Now, what can you tell me about World War II?"

"Umh, it was after the first one?" Haley smiled a little and opened the book.

"We have a lot of work to do."

It was the end of the 7th period.

The door to the tutoring center opened.

"Haley, you ready to-" Lucas stopped his sentence when he saw Nathan. "What the hell are you doing here?" he said and glared at Nathan.

"I'm tutoring him." she said.

"What!"

"Luke, just wait outside. We're almost done." Haley said.

"Huh?" Luke was still confused about the whole thing.

"Outside! Now!" Haley snapped. She wanted to finish tutoring Nathan so she could just go home.

"Yeah, I'll wait you by your locker." Lucas said and left.

"So, Lucas is your bitch." Nathan said grinning.

"No, he just listens to me. And so should you." Haley said. "Ok, I think we're about done here." Haley said. "Just read pages 12 through 16 really carefully. And finish this work sheet." She said and handed him a piece or paper before leaving the room.

"What was that about?" Lucas asked when Haley got to her locker.

"I'm tutoring him." Haley said bored.

"Why?"

"Because his grades suck. And because the principal assigned him to be my tutee. And because I want full credit." Haley said and started to laugh at the word 'tutee' again.

"It's not funny." Lucas said angrily. The trio started to walk towards the parking lot.

"Actually, it is. You do realize that Haley is his only chance of making the basketball team, right?" Jake said and laughed with Haley.

"You mean, you're gonna sabotage the whole tutoring thing so he won't make the team?" Lucas asked excited.

"No! Are you crazy! I'd get expelled if I got caught. Besides, I could never do that to anyone." Haley said. "What Jake meant that it's just kind of ironic." Haley continued. They were now in the parking lot.

"There's my car. See you guys later." Jake said.

"Hey, we're working later tonight. Come hang with us at the garage." Haley said.

"I'll think about it. Depends on Jenny. Talk to you later." he said and got in his car.

"We have to start working on the car." Haley said and put her seat belt on.

"I know. We've got less than two weeks."

"I need to win the race." Haley said.

"Don't worry, you will." he said. They drove in silence for the rest of the drive.

"Pick me up at 5?" Haley asked when they got to her house.

"Sure. See you in couple of hours."

Few hours later:

"This car is gonna rock!" Lucas said. He and Haley were hanging out at Keith's auto shop working on the race car.

"Hopefully. We need to finish this thing soon." Haley said.

"We will." He said. "So, what happened at the party?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it was clear that you were pissed at Nathan. What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Haley, you know I can tell when you're lying." Lucas said.

"Nothing happened. I hung out with him and he turned out to be a jerk. Big surprise." Haley said.

"What did he do?" Lucas asked angrily.

"Just forget it, Luke! I'm tired of talking about Nathan Scott." She said.

"Ok, relax! Don't get moody on me." He paused for a second. "Just be careful when you're with him."

"Whatever."

"Oh, by the way. Keith fixed your car." Lucas said.

"He did? Awesome! I love that guy!" Haley said. "So I can drive home tonight?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, just don't speed or anything. Remember, Wests can't find out you're the driver."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"So, you excited about the Weast?" Lucas asked and chuckled at the name.

"Yeah, can't you tell?" Haley said sarcastically. Lucas suddenly started to laugh.

"What? Do I have oil on my face?" Haley asked while wiping her face. It was clean before she started to wipe it. But not anymore. Lucas decided not to mention that.

"I just realized that I've never seen you in a dress." Lucas said.

"And you won't." Haley said.

"Haley, you can't wear jeans or sweats to the dance. They're gonna make you change."

"I know." Haley paused. "Which is why I'm not going."

"What? But all seniors have to go."

"I so do not care. I'll call in sick or whatever. I'm not going."

"It's gonna suck without you." Lucas said.

"Thanks. But still not coming." Haley said. Lucas was about to argue when he saw someone coming their way.

"Jake!" Lucas said surprised. Haley turned to look at him.

"Jenny!" Haley said excited when she noticed the small baby in Jake's arms.

"She has grown so much!" Haley said excited while holding the girl. Then she continued with a baby voice. "How's my god-daughter doing? Have you grown? Yes, you have. Yes, you have. Aren't you just the cutest little thing?" Lucas and Jake burst out laughing. They did it every time they heard Haley talking like that. Usually she was such a tomboy but Jenny seemed to be able to bring out the inner girl in her. After all, Haley was Jenny's godmother.

"Don't mind the A-holes, my little princess. They're just being lil' biatches." Haley said in a baby voice. Jenny chuckled as if understanding what she was saying.

"So, she doesn't have a fever anymore?" Haley wanted to make sure.

"No, it was just that one night, thank god." Jake said remembering how scared he was that night. He sat down on a bench.

"Good." Lucas said and took the little girl carefully from Haley's arms.

"So, how are you doing? We haven't gotten a chance to really hang out for a while. How are things with Jenny?" Haley said while sitting down next to Jake on the bench.

"It's a lot of work and responsibility but I manage." Jake said quietly.

"You sure? You look really tired." Haley asked concerned.

"I'm fine." Jake said quietly.

"You know, I could baby sit Jenny sometimes." Haley offered. Lucas heard that and came to sit next to them, still holding Jenny.

"Yeah, me too. You should have a night off, you know. You deserve it."

"Thanks guys, I'll keep that in mind." He said gratefully. Jenny started to cry.

"Looks like someone's hungry again!" Jake said and took Jenny from Lucas. "I swear to god, she eats more than I do."

"Hey, she's like Haley!" Lucas said. Haley smacked him across the head.

"I do not eat much!" Haley said. Jake and Lucas looked at Haley with a 'yeah right' look.

"Guys, I gotta go home." Jake said.

"Ok, thanks for stopping by. It was nice to see you and Jenny." Lucas said.

"Yeah, and don't forget that we can help you. Just ask." Haley said and waived Jenny goodbye.

"Bye guys." Jake said and then turned to look at Jenny. "Say bye to your uncle Luke and aunt Haley." Jenny smiled a big smile and drooled on Jake.

"That's her way of saying she loves you too." Jake said and left. Lucas and Haley stood in silence still watching after Jake.

"I love that girl." They both said at the same time. They turned to look at each other with weird looks on their faces. Then simultaneously they turned back to the car and continued to fix it.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Second day of school." Jake mumbled to Haley. Lucas had called Jake in the morning and asked him to pick up Haley because he had something to do before school. Haley would've driven herself but they didn't want to give the Wests any clue that Haley was their racer. Plus, she hated parking. Jake and Haley were by their lockers.

"Yeah, it's only second day and Lucas has already ditched us." Haley said and slammed her locker shut.

"He told me to meet him at his locker." Jake said while taking a few books out. They started to walk towards Lucas' locker.

"So, Haley. I was thinking about what you said yesterday. You know, about baby-sitting Jenny." Jake said.

"Yeah?" Haley said.

"Well, I was thinking about asking Peyton out." Jake said.

"Really? That's great!" Haley said. "When?"

"I don't know. But if I do, can I count on you to take care of Jenny? My parents are out of town for this week so I can't ask them." Jake said.

"Dude, of course. Just let me know when." Haley said. They stopped when they saw that there was quite a crowd by Lucas' locker. Nathan, whose locker was next to Lucas', was going through his locker looking for something. Tim was standing next to him talking about something. Peyton, Brooke and Lucas were deep in conversation. Haley turned to look at Jake with a big grin on her face. Then she sprinted towards Lucas and jumped on his back.

"Hey buddy!" she yelled in his ear.

"Jesus Christ, Haley! You trying to kill me?" he asked. Nathan turned to look at them and when he saw Haley laughing loudly on Lucas' back, he turned back to his locker with an annoyed look.

"Oh, you know it." Haley said and jumped from his back. She turned to say hi to Brooke and Peyton. Haley could've sworn that for a split second she saw Brooke glaring at her. Haley blinked and when she looked at Brooke again, she was smiling sweetly. The bell rang.

"Oh, gotta go." Haley said and left for her class. Nathan quickly slammed his locker shut and ran next to Haley.

"What do you want?" she asked without looking at him.

"I had some problems with the worksheet you gave me." Nathan said quietly. Haley turned to look at him. She wanted to tell him to piss off but the tutor part in her couldn't turn someone down when they needed help.

"Oh. Which part?" she asked.

"The last 3 questions." Nathan said.

"Oh, those were the tough ones. I didn't expect you to get them." She said without thinking. Nathan stopped on his tracks. Haley turned to look at him.

"I didn't mean it like that." She said quickly when she realized how it must have sounded like.

"Whatever." Nathan said and left. Haley watched him go and sighed. Even though she thought that Nathan was a jerk, she hated herself for making him think he was stupid. Her main reason for success as a tutor was the way she handled her students. She didn't talk to them like they were retards and she didn't get angry or impatient if they didn't know the answer. She simply helped them. She sighed and made her way to her first class.

It was finally 7th hour and Haley was sitting inside the tutoring center waiting for Nathan. Right when the bell rang, the door opened and he got in. He sat down in front of Haley and glared at him.

"Before we start, I need you to know that I'm really sorry for what I said. It was a stupid comment and I feel really bad about it. I never meant to be rude or mean." Haley said sincerely. Nathan looked at her surprised. He hadn't expected an apology from her. He thought she was still angry about what happened at the party.

"I overreacted." Nathan said.

"No, you had every right to be angry. I mean, god! I'm supposed to tutor you, not make you think you're stupid." Haley said.

"You tell Tim he's retarded all the time." Nathan said smirking.

"Yeah, well. I'm not tutoring him." Haley said smiling. "Besides, he's a lost case." She added while opening her book. They both laughed at that.

"You're damn right there." He said while taking his books out and handing her the worksheet.

"Ok, let's take a look at this." Haley mumbled while taking it from him. Nathan smiled at the concentrated look on Haley's face.

It was almost the end of the 7th hour and Haley and Nathan were still in the tutoring center.

"...so basically the only thing you didn't get right was the last part of the equation."

"That's good, right?" Nathan said.

"Yeah, you're getting better. Congrats!" Haley said happily.

"Thank yourself." Nathan said. Haley looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that they only had few more minutes left.

"Ok, I've made you another worksheet. And this time I have full faith in you." She said while handing him the paper.

"Thanks. Means a lot to me." Nathan said. Haley smiled and took the pen from Nathan's hand.

"And here's my cell number for emergencies. Call me if you need anything." she said and wrote her number on the corner of the work sheet. Nathan put the paper on the table.

"Anything?" Nathan grinned.

"Anything school related." Haley specified but smiled at him.

She started to gather all of her papers and books. Nathan did the same. They left the room and started to walk towards their lockers.

"You know, I'm really glad you're my tutor." Nathan suddenly said.

"Thanks. I promise I'll do my best." She said.

"By the end of the semester _I_'ll be the teachers' pet." Nathan said grinning.

"Oh, you think you can beat me?" Haley said laughing. "Bring it on!" she said laughing. They both laughed.

"So, you heard about this Weast dance?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, could it be anymore lame?" Haley said.

"I guess it could be worse." Nathan said,

"I guess. Doesn't matter. I'm not going." Haley said.

"I thought we didn't have a choice." Nathan said.

"We don't. I'm just gonna call in sick or something."

"Too bad." Nathan mumbled. Haley was about to say something but she saw Lucas and Jake by her locker. She stopped when she got there and turned to look at Nathan.

"So, same time, same place tomorrow?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, see you then. Bye Nathan." Haley said and smiled.

"Yeah, bye Haley." he said and went to his own locker. Lucas and Jake looked at Nathan and then Haley.

"What's going on?" Lucas asked suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" Haley asked while taking some books out of her locker.

"You were all buddybuddy with Nathan. I thought you said he was the biggest jerk." Lucas reminded Haley.

"He can be that." Haley said quietly. Lucas could've sworn he saw Haley blush.

"But?" Jake asked smiling. He had never seen Haley like that.

"He can also be like a normal person." Haley finished quietly. Lucas heard it however.

"What! You're kidding, right? The guy's an asshole." Lucas said loudly. Few freshmen who were walking past him stopped. Lucas glared at them angrily.

"I know. All I'm saying is that he can also be different." Haley insisted.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this!" Lucas yelled.

"Would you just chill! God!" Haley said angrily and slammed her locker shut. Lucas glared at her. She glared at him back. Jake looked at them both and rolled his eyes.

"You know how I feel about the guy." Lucas finally said.

"Yes, I do. But if you're planning on surviving the next 9 months in the same school with him, I suggest you try and change your attitude." Haley said and started to walk away from them, towards the parking lot. Lucas and Jake came to walk next to her.

"It's pretty damn hard when he's being an ass all the time." Lucas said.

"I'll talk to him." Haley said. "End of conversation." She then turned to look at Jake. "Hey, you. Did you ask Peyton out?" Haley asked excited.

"What?" Lucas asked. He didn't know about Peyton and Jake. Haley and Jake ignored him.

"Not yet. I did ask for her cell phone number." Jake said smiling.

"That's awesome! Way to go, Jakie!" she said.

"Don't call me that." Jake said.

"Ok, I won't." Haley said even though they both knew she was lying.

"So, I'll let you know as soon as I know if I need a baby-sitter." Jake said.

"Hey, I wanna babysit too." Lucas said.

"We'll babysit together." Haley said laughing.

"How Dawson & Joey." Jake said laughing. Lucas and Haley both smacked him.

"Hey! No hitting." He said laughing when he stopped in front of his car. He opened the door and got in.

"Bye Jakie!" Haley yelled and laughed when he showed her the finger. Lucas and Haley continued walking towards his car.

"So, Nathan's the good guy now." Lucas said.

"Luke, don't start." Haley warned him.

"I'm just confused. First you think he's an asshole then he's nice to you at the party but turns out to be an asshole again. And now you think he's a good guy?" Lucas asked.

"Like I said, he can be a jerk. But he can also be different. And I'm glad about that. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to tutor him if he was an ass all the time?" Haley asked when they got in his car. Lucas didn't say anything. Just drove.

"See you later at Keith's?" Haley asked when getting out of the car. They were now in front of Haley's house.

"Yeah, I'll pick you up around five." Lucas said.

"See you then." She said and shut the door. Lucas watched her go inside her house. He really cared about Haley. She was like the little sister he never had. He had always been protective of Haley but now this whole thing with Nathan just made it worse. Lucas hated the guy and couldn't stand the thought that Haley might actually like him. Lucas knew that Nathan was just using Haley to mess with his head and piss him off. Nathan could try and do anything to him, he didn't care. But when he went after Lucas' best friend, the girl who had always been there for him, Lucas had had enough. Lucas had to make sure that Nathan knew what would happen if he hurt Haley. He made a U-turn and started to drive towards West side.

Haley closed her front door and sighed. She hated fighting with Lucas. But even more she hated the feelings she felt when she was with Nathan. She wasn't supposed to start to like the guy especially after what he did to her at his party. She climbed the steps and went into her room. She sat down on her bed and opened her backpack. She took out all the books and papers and started to sort them out. A piece of paper caught her eye. It had her cell phone number on the corner.

"Shit!" Haley said when she realized she had accidentally taken Nathan's work sheet with her. Now he couldn't do any work and they would fall behind on her schedule. She hit herself in the head annoyed for being so careless. She laid down on the bed thinking about her options. She didn't have Nathan's cell number so she couldn't call him. She had no choice but to go to Nathan's house and take the paper there herself. She went to her car and started to drive towards West side.

Nathan was shooting hoops on his court, shirtless of course. He didn't know what to think. He liked flirting with Haley and loved hanging out with her. But all his life he'd been taught to be proud because of being a West. Since he could remember his dad had always told him how worthless the people on the East side were. And up until he met Haley, he agreed. But Haley was different. She was smart, funny and didn't care what other people thought of her. Nathan felt like he didn't know what do around her. Should he really open up and get to know the girl and not care what his dad thought? Or take the easy road? He was still thinking about the pros and cons of those options when he saw a person walking towards him. Nathan dropped the ball and stared at the person.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked.

"Came to have a lil' chat with ya." Lucas said.

"We've got nothing to talk about." Nathan said, turned around and took the ball from the ground. He was about to throw it towards the net but Lucas took it from his hands and threw it as far away as he could.

"What's your problem, man!" Nathan yelled and pushed him in the chest.

"You. I told you to stay away from Haley." Lucas said angrily. Nathan just smirked at him.

"What Haley and I have has nothing to do with you." He said cockily. Lucas took a firm grip from Nathan's shirt.

"I told you already! Stay the fuck away from her."

"Don't think so." Nathan said. Lucas pushed him as hard as he could. Nathan fell on the ground and got up angrily.

"Oh, you're gonna regret that." He said before hitting Lucas in the jaw and pulling him by his shirt.

-----------------

Haley turned to Nathan's driveway. She parked her car and looked at the huge mansion in front of her.

She jogged to the front door and rang the door bell. Nobody answered. She rang it again. Still no answer. She started to look around the driveway and saw Nathan's car.

"So he must be home." Haley mumbled. She then noticed a red truck parked on the other side of the driveway.

"Lucas." Haley said out loud. She tried to open the door but it was closed. She started to walk towards the backyard. She kept walking until she found herself staring at Lucas and Nathan who were both shirtless, wrestling on the ground and hitting each other. Haley didn't know whether to laugh or yell. So she chose the one she enjoyed more.

"What the fuck is going on!" Haley yanked Lucas off of Nathan and dropped him on the ground so they were both lying on their backs and staring at Haley.

"How-?" Lucas started but Haley waived her hand in the air to shut him up.

"What-?" Nathan tried but Haley did it again. Haley stared at them both while thinking what she would say. The guys didn't move. They tried not to breathe. Lucas knew how Haley was when she was angry. Nathan, poor Nathan, had no idea but he could've sworn he saw Haley's eyes turn dark red for a split second. He swallowed. Haley took a deep breath and stared at them both.

"Now you both listen to me and you listen to me good because I will only say this once." Haley said calmly without emotion. Lucas gulped. The only thing that was scarier than a screaming, angry Haley was a calm, angry Haley. Haley continued with angrier voice. "I am beyond sick of watching you two fight. It's immature and honestly getting old. Not to mention it's driving me crazy. Since I'm the one that has to hang out with both of you and listen to you bitch and moan about the other like fucking losers, I'm gonna put a stop to it. I know there's a lot of history between the two of you and I also know that you can't change history. But you can change your future. Do you both really wanna live the rest of your life hating each other? Your own brother?" Haley said in a serious voice.

"Step-brother." They both said at the same time.

"Well, actually you guys are half-brothers." Haley said quietly. They looked at her confused. Haley sighed. "Step-brothers are not blood related. They're parents have just married each other. Half-brothers share a same mother or, in your case, a father." Haley explained. The guys blinked.

"Anyways!" She snapped out and continued with an angry voice. "Since you both are attending the same school and most likely will share the same basketball team, I strongly advice you both to change your attitudes. Spend some time together. Play some ball. Hang out. Talk trash about your dad if nothing else. Give the other a chance. I wouldn't hang out with either of you if I thought you were incapable of that. So I know you can do it."

"It's not gonna happen, Haley." Lucas said. Haley glared at him.

"I wasn't _asking_, Lucas." Haley said and looked at Lucas. "Look, you're my best friend." She said and then turned to look at Nathan. "And I'm probably tutoring you for the rest of the school year. No offence, but you're grades really do suck that bad." Nathan smiled a little. "So basically I'm gonna be spending my entire senior year with you guys and I'm not gonna watch you two fight the entire time. So I'm asking, no I'm _telling_ you to try and get to know each other. I know that some people don't just get along and everybody can't be friends but just give it a try. What do you got to lose?" Haley asked. The guys were about to answer but she continued before they had their chance. "Before you start protesting, lemme tell what you've got to lose if you _don't_ do this." She said and looked at the guys who were still lying on the ground staring at her.

"Me." Haley finished.

"What?" Lucas and Nathan asked at the same time.

"That's right." She said and turned to look at Nathan. "I'm having mixed feelings when it comes to you. You've been a total ass for as long as I've known you and last Saturday definitely didn't prove otherwise. But I feel like I've also seen the human side in you and I'd like to get to know that side better. Not to even mention how much easier tutoring would be. But if you really are that asshole I met at the party and you won't try to get to know your half-brother, nice nipple ring by the way…" Haley suddenly said but then continued "…you can say goodbye to tutoring. I can't quit tutoring you because I want full credit but when I say that I can make your 7th period a living hell, you better believe me. And since tutoring probably doesn't mean much to you, let me put this other way: one word to the principal that you're not co-operating and it's goodbye to basketball." Haley said while glaring at Nathan.

"And you, Lucas. You're my best friend and I've known you since I was like eight. You've always been the one person I can trust the most and you've always had my back. But lately you've been a bit of a dissappointment. I know it sounds harsh but you need to hear it. Fighting doesn't solve any problems. And I'm not gonna let you ruin your senior year. You need to give Nathan a chance. It's for your own good." Haley paused for a second and then continued with a sad voice. "If you don't, I don't think you're the person I thought you were."

"So, you're willing to throw away our friendship and everything we've been through just because of him?" Lucas asked angrily.

"No." Haley said and paused. "But are you?" She asked quietly. Lucas stared at Haley thinking about her question. Was he willing to give the guy a chance and get to know him for Haley's sake? Or would he tell him to go fuck himself like he deserved and in the process lose his best friend? Lucas sighed.

"No." he finally said. Haley smiled at him.

"Good." She said and smiled at them. Then her smile faded. "Get up." She said. The guys quickly got up. Haley stared at the two tall boys in front of him. "I'm gonna go now." She suddenly said. She could see both of the guys relax and even smile a little. "But if I see any more bruises on either one tomorrow, there's gonna be hell to pay." She said and then smiled brightly. She tiptoed and patted both of the guys on their heads and started to walk away. Then she quickly turned around and walked back.

"Ooh Nathan, I almost forgot. The reason I came here in the first place." She said and took the work sheet out of her pocket. "I accidentally took this with me today. Pay attention to question number six. It's not as easy as it may seem." She said and handed the piece of paper to Nathan.

"See you at Keith's, Luke." Haley said and left. She was almost out of the yard when she turned around one more time.

"And for god's sake, put some shirts on! This isn't Florida!" Nathan and Lucas just stared at her walk away until they couldn't see her anymore. They turned to look at each other.

"So..." they both started at the same time.

"Do you think we should try this thing?" Nathan asked while picking up his shirt from the ground.

"Do we really have a choice?" Lucas asked and took his shirt from the ground too. The guys looked at each other and sighed both knowing that they had to give it a try.

Big thank you to everyone who has reviewed! It means the world to me. Keep 'em coming :)

-Fes-


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It was Friday. The first Friday in their new school. Haley had been busy going to classes and tutoring Nathan. After school she did her homework and spend the rest of the night with Lucas at the garage working on the car. It was the only time when Haley saw Lucas. Every morning he had something to do and he was nowhere to be found during lunch. And neither was Brooke. Haley suspected that something was going on but since Lucas hadn't said anything she just assumed nothing was going on.

Jake had visited Lucas and Haley at the garage on Tuesday with Jenny. He had asked if they could babysit her while he went on his date with Peyton. He had called Peyton the minute he had gotten home from school on Tuesday. Haley and Lucas said yes and Jake was able to go on his date with Peyton. The two had been dating ever since that.

Things were great between Haley and Nathan. They ate lunch together with Peyton, Jake and Tim and they also met for their regular 7th hour tutoring sessions. They were always joking and sort or flirting with each other. They still didn't talk about personal stuff, mostly just about school.

Nathan and Lucas hadn't talked to each other since Tuesday when Haley made it clear that they had to stop their war and try and get to know each other. They both figured that if they avoided each other and didn't get into a fight, Haley would think that it was enough. They both also knew that it wasn't going to happen.

"Yo, Tutor Girl! How's it hanging!" Haley didn't have to take her eyes away from her books to know that it was Tim standing on the doorway. She was sitting in the tutoring center waiting for Nathan to get there.

"It's Haley." She said still not looking up from her books.

"Whatever. Is Nate-ster here?" Haley sighed.

"I don't know any Nate-ster but if you're referring to your best friend _Nathan,_ then does it look like he's here?" Haley asked and looked up for the first time.

"So, whatcha reading?" he asked while sitting down opposite from Haley.

"Math. You know, the subject you have on your 3rd period, after P.E." Haley said sarcastically.

"I know what math is." He said annoyed. Haley was about to say something when the door opened.

"Nate-dawg!" Tim yelled happily.

"Just say- Ah nevermind. What are you doing here, Tim?" Nathan asked with a weird look on his face.

"Looking for you, mate. Coach wants to hold the tryouts next monday."

"Already? The season doesn't start in months!" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, well the tryouts are on monday so be ready." Tim said and got up.

"Bye, Hale-ster!" Tim said before leaving.

"It's Haley!" she yelled after him but he was gone already.

"What was that about?" Nathan asked while sitting down and taking his books out.

"Tim." Haley explained in one word. "So, did you finish the work sheet I gave you?"

"Yes. As always." He said and handed it to Haley who started to check it.

It was about 5 minutes before the end of the period when Nathan decided to reveal his big news.

"Oh, we had a pop quiz in math today." Nathan said like it was no big deal. Haley dropped the book from her hands and stared at Nathan. Nathan acted like he didn't notice her staring.

"And!" Haley finally asked.

"And what?" Nathan asked innocently.

"How did you do!" Haley raised her voice.

"I did fine." Nathan said smirking. He knew he was pissing off Haley. It was what he did best.

"Please don't say 'F' for fine." Haley said scared. Nathan took the folded piece of paper from his pocket and opened it.

"I did fine." Nathan just said looking at the paper. Haley held up her hand but when Nathan didn't hand the paper to her she got up from her chair went to stand next to Nathan.

"Give it to me." She finally said. She was starting to lose her patience. Nathan stood up infront of her and held the paper high in the air so Haley couldn't reach it.

"Or what?" Nathan said smirking. He loved to piss her off.

"Nathan..." Haley whined.

"Nathan..." Nathan mimicked her voice.

"Don't make me knee you." Haley finally said. Nathan quickly handed the paper to Haley. She opened it with trembling hands.

"81!" she yelled and hugged him while jumping up and down.

"Chill, girl. It's just a pop quiz." Nathan said. Haley stopped jumping.

"What? This is so much more than that! This is our first real proof that all of this hasn't been for nothing!" Haley said looking him in the eyes.

"I could've told you that." He said smiling. Nathan and Haley looked at each other in the eyes and for a moment Nathan thought Haley was gonna kiss him. Then Haley blinked and took a step back.

"Lemme see that quiz again." She mumbled while looking at the quiz. Nathan couldn't help but smile when he saw that Haley was blushing.

"So, what do you think?" he asked after a while. Haley was still looking at the quiz.

"Good job, Nathan. No, _excellent_ job. This was a difficult quiz."

"You should've seen the teacher's face when I returned it. He was certain I had cheated even though I sit in the middle of the first row." Nathan said smiling.

"Did he believe you?" Haley asked.

"Not at first." Nathan said.

"How did you convince him?" Haley asked.

"I told him you were tutoring me." Nathan said. Haley looked at him with a surprised look.

"Wow." She just said.

"Yeah, but now I owe you." Nathan said.

"What? I'm your tutor. You don't owe me anything." Haley said. "Except your beach house." She added laughing.

"Well, I'm throwing a party there tomorrow night."

"Again?" Haley asked.

"Yeah. It's a "Start of the school year" –party. You should come." Nathan said. Haley looked down at her books on the table.

"I can't." She said while avoiding his gaze.

"Why?" he asked disappointed.

"I gotta study." Haley said quickly.

"On a Saturday night?" Nathan asked in a disbelieving voice.

"Yeah." She said. They both knew she was lying.

"What's going on?" Nathan asked. Haley looked at him and was about to answer when the bell rang.

"Like I said, I gotta study. See you on Monday." She said before storming off the class room leaving a disappointed and a confused Nathan sitting by himself.

"Haley!" Haley turned to see Lucas running after her.

"Luke! It's you." Haley said sighing in relief. Lucas looked at her confused.

"Who did you think it would be?"

"Oh, nobody. I was just surprised to see you. I usually don't see you at school at all. So, what's up?" Haley asked.

"Nothing, just wanted to ask you if you needed a ride." Haley looked at him smiling.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do." She said and they started to walk towards his car.

"I know I haven't been spending much time with you and I'm sorry about that." Lucas said after a minute of silence.

"It's ok. It's senior year. I understand." Haley said quietly.

"Well, at least we'll get to hang out now, right?" Lucas said and wrapped his arm around Haley's shoulder. Haley smiled a little. "Hey, how about we hang out tonight?" Lucas asked. Haley turned to look at him surprised.

"Ok. How about a pizza and a movie?" Haley asked.

"Sounds good." He said when they got to his car. Haley was about to get inside when she saw Jake walking towards his car.

"Yo, Jake! Pizza and a movie at my place tonight. You in?"

"Got a date with Peyton." Jake yelled.

"Oh, do you need a... babysitter?" Haley whispered the last word. Nobody still knew about Jake's daughter and he liked to keep it that way.

"No, my parents are handling it. Thanks anyways."

"No problem. Talk to ya later." She said and got inside of Lucas' car.

"Guess it's just you and me." Lucas said.

"Just like old times." Haley said.

"Feels good, huh?" he said and they both smiled.

Next morning:

Haley woke up early. She and Lucas had a fun night. They ate some pizza and watched a few movies. It did feel like old times even though Lucas excused himself to the bathroom every 15 minutes. Few times Haley could've sworn she heard him talking to someone. Lucas finally left around 10 so Haley went to bed early.

Haley checked her watch and saw that it was only 8 am. Plenty of time for a run before her 11 am shift at the cafe. She ate some breakfast, changed her clothes and grabbed her iPod before heading out. She thought about asking Lucas but she figured he was probably still sleeping. She put her headphones on and started on the familiar route she'd run all these years.

Meanwhile in West side.

Nathan woke up early. Not by his own free will but by the shrilling sound of his cell phone. He checked the screen and groaned when he saw a blinking "Devil calling" on the screen. He flipped the phone open.

"What do you want, dad?"

"I'm at work. I need you to bring me some papers."

"It's Saturday morning, dad." Nathan said with a tired voice.

"There's a blue folder on my desk." Dan said ignoring his son's comment. "Bring it here. Now." he said and hung up. Nathan threw the phone angrily across the room. Luckily it fell on some clothes and didn't break. Nathan groaned and forced himself to get up from his bed.

He pretty much hated his dad. He was always pushing Nathan to be a better athlete, a better son. His mom was gone for business trips most of the weeks of the month and when she was home, she was too blind to see what was happening with Dan. Nathan got dressed and went to his dad's study. He found the folder and went into his car.

He was listening to loud rap not really paying attention to his surroundings. He knew the streets like the back of his hands. Besides, it was 8 am on a Saturday morning. The streets were empty. He got to his dad's dealership, dropped off the folder and started to drive back to his house in order to get some sleep.

He started to look for a CD that he remembered he had somewhere in the car. He found it but managed to drop it on the floor. He looked down to pick it up and when he looked back at the street, he saw a dark figure on the road ahead of him. The person was going to run right in front of his car. He hit the brakes and watched in horror as the car got closer to the person. The person turned around and froze. The car stopped.

Haley took her hood and her headphones off and watched in horror at the front of the car that was only three inches from her shaking body. Then she looked at the driver. It was Nathan. They both just stared at each other in shock. Haley was still shaking and Nathan was gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles were white. He forced himself to get out of his car and make sure Haley (and his car) were alright.

"Umh, are you ok?" Nathan asked with a shaking voice while getting out of the car.

Haley didn't answer, just stared at Nathan with wide eyes.

"Haley?" Nathan asked again and touched her shoulder. That seemed to snap her out of her daze. First she was shocked, then relieved and finally angry.

"What the fuck was that! Are you trying to kill me or are you just blind! You just almost fucking ran over me!" Haley screamed.

"What the hell were you doing running across the street like that?" Nathan yelled back.

"Don't you look around when you drive!"

"Don't you look around when you run!" Nathan yelled back. They fell silent and stared at each other both just starting to realize how bad the situation could've been.

"Are you ok?" Nathan asked concerned.

"Yeah, you?" Haley asked with a shaking voice.

"Yeah." Nathan said. Haley suddenly realized that she could've died a moment ago. She could feel her knees giving in and she had trouble breathing.

"I need to sit down." she mumbled and slowly sat down on the ground while leaning on the front of the car. Nathan sat down next to her and looked at her concerned.

"You sure you're ok? You look pale."

"I almost died." Haley whispered in horror.

"I'm so sorry. First minute the street was empty and the next you were there. I didn't see you, I really didn't." Nathan panicked.

"It's ok. I didn't look around at all. I was so caught up with the music and I didn't really expect anyone to be here at this time of the day." Haley said.

They sat there in silence for a while, both taking deep breaths.

"Do you want a ride home?" Nathan suddenly asked. Haley looked at him surprised. She didn't see that one coming.

"Umh, yeah sure, why not. I don't think I'm gonna be able to run for a while." She said. "Or breathe." She mumbled when he helped her up and they got inside the car.

"Nice car." she mumbled. She was about to sit down when she noticed her basketball on the passenger seat. "My ball!" she said excited and grabbed it. She had totally forgot about her missing ball. Nathan smiled when he saw Haley hugging her basketball.

"So, where to?" Nathan asked.

"You know where Arlington Square is?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, it's close to the old elementary school, right?"

"Yeah, just drive there and I'll tell you where to go from there."

"Sure." they drove for a while in silence.

"Do you run often?" Nathan asked.

"Luke and I used to go for a run about 4 times a week. Gotta stay fit for soccer. But lately he's been really busy with something so it's been just me."

"I could go for a run with you." Nathan said. Haley turned to look at him surprised.

"Really? That'd be great." She said.

"Cool. So, you play soccer?"

"Yeah, I'm on the school varsity. _Was_ on the varsity. I don't know what the hell's gonna happen now when the schools are united." Haley said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Nathan said thinking about the basketball team. Haley turned to look at him.

"You shouldn't worry about making the team. There's no way they're not letting you play." Haley said.

"Thanks. Do you play basketball? I saw you at Rivercourt. You were pretty good."

"Thanks. But no, I don't play ball. It's just something I do with the guys. Besides, the girls at soccer team are enough for me to handle." she said smiling.

"Why do you only hang out with guys?" Nathan asked.

"I don't know. Lucas has been my best friend since I was eight. He introduced me to the guys and I started hanging out with them. Guys are just so much easier to be friends with. No drama." she explained.

"I agree." Nathan said and they both started laughing. "So, what position?" he suudenly asked.

"What!"

"...do you play?" Nathan finished his question and smirked when he saw Haley blushing.

"Oh, I thought you- Umh, midfield." She stuttered.

"Cool." he said still smirking. They fell into a silence again.

"So, second week of school is starting." Haley said after a while.

"Yeah, can't wait." he said sarcastically.

"Hey, at least we're seniors." she said.

"Yeah, at least. The only thing I really care about is basketball." he said.

"That can't be true. You have your friends, your family, school… There are more important things than basketball." Haley said.

"Not according to my dad." Nathan said bitterly. "Basketball was his life so now it's my life." he said quietly.

"Is your dad the only reason you play?" Haley asked.

"No, I really do love the game. I just hope..." Nathan mumbled.

"Hope what?" Haley asked.

"I just hope he would leave me alone and just let me play. Instead of always pushing me to be better and complaining that I'm not good enough." he said quietly.

"Is your dad dense? You average like 25 points a game!" Haley exclaimed. Nathan turned to look at her with that famous smirk.

"26. And how did you know that?" he asked smiling. Haley blushed.

"Just a guess." she said and blushed even harder when Nathan looked at her disbelievingly.

"Sure…" he said and grinned.

"So, I read the articles about you on newspapers. No big deal." Haley said quickly.

"It is to me." he said seriously. They both fell silent again. "We're here." Nathan said when they got to Arlington Square.

"Take a left here." she said. Nathan turned left. Nathan looked around.

"Nice neighbourhood." he said sincerely.

"Thanks. Take a right here." she said and he turned right. "It's the fourth house one the left."

"The one with the red door?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah." she said. Nathan pulled over and parked the car.

"Nice house." he said while looking at it.

"Yeah, right." she said remembering the size of his beach house.

"No, I do mean it. It's like twice the size of your neighbours'." Nathan said.

"Well, I have a big family." Haley said.

"Lots of brothers and sisters?" Nathan asked a little jealous. He had always hoped for a brother or a sister.

"Yep." Haley said.

"Sometimes I wish I had a brother or a sister."

"You do. Lucas." Haley said.

"Whatever." Nathan said and then decided to change the subject back to Haley. "Are you the youngest or oldest or somewhere in the middle?"

"I'm the youngest one. The only one who still lives home." Haley said and sighed.

"You lonely?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah. Normally I like the silence but it gets boring pretty fast." Haley whispered.

"But your parents are there, right?"

"They just bought an RV and are planning on driving all around the country, visiting my siblings for the most of the fall. They're still in Chicago with my sister and after that they're gonna visit the rest of the family. They would've left for the summer but didn't wanna leave me alone. Now when school's started they figured that since I'm a senior, I'm going to be so busy with school, work, getting ready for soccer, et cetera, that I won't even notice them gone." Haley said quietly while looking at her hands.

"But you do."

"Yeah." Haley said quietly.

"I'm sorry." Nathan said sincerely.

"No problem. I love my family and they love me. That's all I need. Besides there are certain advantages of having your parents never around." Haley said smiling. "Even though I live alone most of the time there's always something happening in the house. A movie night, a wild party or just hanging out with the guys."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. We're always hanging out at my beach house on the weekends. My dad doesn't care and mom's never around so we can do pretty much whatever we want to."

"Cool." Haley said. There was a short silence again.

Nathan looked at Haley for a moment. "You should come to the party tonight." Haley turned to look at him.

"Nathan-"

"And don't lie and say you gotta study. You always study."

"I just don't think it's a good idea." Haley said quietly.

"Why? It'll be fun. Peyton and Jake are coming. Brooke is coming and accorgind to her so is Lucas. You should come too."

"I really don't think I should."

"Why? Just tell me one good reason." Nathan said.

"You want a reason? Because last time I was at your party I ended up being miserable." She said and Nathan looked at her guiltily. Haley continued before he could say anything. "We're finally getting along and tutoring is going great. I don't wanna risk that."

"Haley, I was a jackass then."

"That was one week ago!"

"I know but it feels like so much more. I've literally learnt more this week than I have in my entire life and that's all thanks to you."

"No, you did it all. I was just there to help you help yourself." Haley said.

"I promise you tonight is gonna be different. And we did have fun at the beginning of my last party, right?" Nathan said.

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts. Except yours tonight at my beach house." Nathan said and winked. Haley started to laugh.

"Fine. I'll come. But I'm gonna be wearing your sweatshirt for the entire night so everyone will know I'm hanging out with you." Haley said laughing.

"Better yet, you can keep it. Like I said, it looks better on you anyway." He said grinning. Haley smiled and they both looked at each other for a while.

"I should go." Haley started. She didn't wanna leave but she was afraid that if she stayed one more minute, she might kiss him.

"Yeah, me too. Besides, I'll see you tonight!" Nathan said.

"Bye Nathan." Haley said and got out of the car. Nathan opened his car window.

"Haley! Thanks for…you know, listening and all." Nathan said and smiled. Haley leaned on the car and smiled back.

"No problem. See you soon." she said before turning around. Nathan watched her walk towards her front door wearing that huge Keith's Auto Shop sweatshirt and holding her basketball and iPod on her hands. She opened the door and was about to go inside when she turned around to look at Nathan. She waived and smiled at him before disappearing inside the house. Nathan sat in the car a big grin on his face. He reversed from the driveway and paused for a second to look at his left.

"What the hell happened to her mailbox?"

So, what do you think? What's good? What's bad? What would you change? Thanks you so much for all the great reviews! Means the world to me! In 50 Cent's words: "I love you like a fat kid love cake." :)

-Fes-


	8. Chapter 7a

Chapter 7a

"So, you're going to the party?" Lucas asked. He was sitting on the counter at the cafe talking to Haley who was closing up the place.

"Yeah, aren't you?" she asked while wiping the counter in front of Lucas.

"Yeah, just didn't know you were going."

"Nathan wants me to go." Haley said.

"Why?" Lucas asked half angrily, half curiously.

"He's feeling guilty." Haley said.

"About what?"

"For almost driving over me." Haley said nonchalantly and burst out laughing when she saw the look on Lucas' face.

"What!"

"This morning I was on a run and he was driving and apparently neither of us paid any attention to the road."

"So, he almost killed you." Lucas asked angrily.

"Yeah, but he was feeling really bad about it which made me feel really bad about it because it was just as much my fault as it was his so I said I would come to the party if he really wanted which he did so now I'm going." Haley said in one breath.

"Umh, ok." Lucas was loss at words. He'd never heard Haley talk so fast. It reminded him of Bridget Hennessy from '8 simple rules'.

"So, we driving together?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, I could drive you." Lucas said when he remembered that Brooke was going with Peyton.

"Cool. It's now 7. Pick me up in an hour?" Haley asked while checking her watch.

"Yeah, sounds good. Do you need a ride home now?"

"No, I drove myself." She said.

"Haley, you shouldn't drive." Lucas said.

"I know, but I was in a hurry. Besides it was just here. It's not like I went cruising on the West side." Haley said and then continued. "I miss driving! Speeding! The smell of the gas and the sound when you leave tire marks on the asphalt."

"Haley-" Lucas started but got cut off by her.

"You do realize that I haven't driven in over a week now. By the time of the race, I probably won't even know how to drive a manual." She said frustrated.

"Haley, the race is next Saturday. It's only a week." Lucas tried.

"Whatever. This totally sucks." Haley said and checked her watch. "I gotta go home now." She said.

"Don't speed!"

"Yeah, yeah. See ya at eight?"

"Yeah, see ya then."

Half an hour later

Haley had just gotten home and eaten some food when her cell phone rang. She looked at the caller id and didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" she asked confused.

"Haley? It's Nathan."

"Oh, hi!" Haley said surprised.

"Just wanted to make sure you were still coming to the party."

"Yeah." Haley said. She was still in shock that Nathan had called her.

"Do you need a ride? Since I now know where you live..." Nathan said laughing.

"No, Lucas is picking me up." Haley said.

"Oh." He said disappointed.

"But thanks." Haley said.

"Yeah sure, see you soon." He said.

"Yeah, see you soon." Haley said and hung up.

At 8 o'clock sharp.

Haley heard a car honk outside. She checked her watch and cursed when she saw that it was already eight. She hadn't noticed it was already eight because she had been thinking about the phone call. She quickly put a pair of jeans and a small tank top on. She took her purse, ran downstairs and put a pair of flip flops on. The car honked again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming..." Haley mumbled while opening the front door and waving at Lucas who was waiting impatiently.

"You're late." Lucas said when Haley got inside the car.

"I said eight-ish." Haley said.

"No, you didn't." Lucas said laughing. "Is that all that you're wearing?" Lucas asked when he noticed Haley's small tank top.

"Yeah, why?" Haley asked.

"It's just kind of revealing." Lucas mumbled. Haley looked down at her top.

"No, it's not."

"You're gonna get cold." Lucas said.

"No, I won't." Haley said and smiled a small smile.

"Fine, be stubborn." Lucas said and reversed from the driveway.

"So, is Jake coming tonight?" Haley asked.

"I don't think so. He said he would be with Jenny tonight. Something about hanging out with Peyton too much." Lucas said.

"Peyton must be bummed." Haley said.

"Yeah, I guess." Lucas said. "Hey, since we're almost done fixing the car we should take it for testing as soon as possible." Lucas said.

"Yeah, you're right we should do that." Haley said when she remembered the race.

"So, I think we can take it for a test drive on Wednesday."

"So that leaves us with three days of testing it." Haley said while counting the days.

"Two. The Weast is on Friday." Lucas said.

"Great." She said sarcastically.

"It won't be that bad. You should come." Lucas said.

"I'm so not having this conversation again." Haley said angrily.

"Ok, just chill. I won't bring it up again." Lucas said.

"Good." They drove the rest of the ride in silence. When they got to the beach house they walked in silence until they were inside the house.

"See ya later." Lucas said.

"Yeah, later." Haley said and watched Lucas go. On his way he high-fived some guys Haley didn't know. Haley couldn't help but feel like he was drifting away from her. Or she was drifting away from him.

Whatever the truth was, she felt like her friendship with Lucas was slowly dying. She couldn't believe that it had only been a week. In a week her life had gotten so complicated. It used to be Haley and Lucas against the world. Now it seemed that Lucas was part of the world.

Then there was Nathan. The guy she had hated for her entire life. And all of that had changed in a week. Her feelings towards him had done a complete 180. She knew that she liked Nathan more than just a friend. And it confused her and more than anything, scared her. She was afraid to open up to him. What if she ended up being miserable? And she knew that if she started dating him, it could destroy what was left of her friendship with Lucas.

Haley looked at the crowd feeling sad and confused. She saw Peyton, Tim and the rest of the gang coming her way. She quickly put a fake smile on and went to their direction.

"Hey Peyton." Haley said.

"Hi Haley! And look! I'm wearing my own shirt." She said pointing at her shirt.

"Nice." Haley said and high-fived her. "So, Jake's not coming?" Haley asked to make sure.

"Yeah, I actually have to talk to you. Alone." Peyton said and turned to look at Tim who was standing there admiring Haley's boobs.

"Tim!" Haley said annoyed and snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Yeah?" he said while slowly looking up.

"Get lost! Now!" Haley said.

"Fine." He said and left.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked from Peyton.

"We're friends, right?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, of course." Haley said.

"So, you would tell me if something was going on with Jake, right" Peyton said.

"Sure." Haley said. "What's going on, Peyton?"

"I just feel like there's something going on."

"What do you mean?"

"Like today he told me that he couldn't come to this party because he had some homework to do. On a Saturday night! And he always gets these phone calls and he always leaves right after them. When I try to ask him about it he just mumbles something about a family emergency. I mean, jeez! How many emergencies can a family have!" Peyton finished.

"I'm sure there's nothing going on." Haley assured.

"You think?"

"Yeah. He will tell you if something's wrong." Haley said.

"So nothing out of the ordinary is going on?" she asked. Haley gulped. She was a terrible liar.

"That's right." She said quickly. She felt guilty about lying to Peyton but Jenny wasn't her secret to tell.

"Good. You have no idea how glad I am to hear that." Peyton said and smiled. Haley smiled back.

"So, where's your drink?" Haley asked laughing when she didn't see her drinking anything.

"Actually, I'm staying sober tonight. I think I'm still having a hangover from last week." Peyton said smiling. Haley laughed at that.

"Anyways, I'm gonna go find Brooke. Talk to you later!" Peyton said and left. Haley looked around and tried to spot Nathan from the crowd but couldn't. She went to the kitchen and when she saw that he wasn't there either, she went upstairs. She headed towards the bedroom she knew to be Nathan's. The door was open so she went in. She saw Nathan wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. His back was towards her so he didn't see her. He was standing there motionless staring at his bed.

Haley coughed. Nathan turned around quickly to see a smirking Haley.

"What are you doing? You're missing your party." Haley asked when she walked closer to him and saw that his bed was filled with different kinds of shirts, jeans, sweats and shorts. Nathan was clearly having a hard time figuring out what to wear.

"Nothing. What are you doing here?" Nathan asked quickly.

"Looking for you." Haley said. "And my sweatshirt." She said and grinned. Nathan grinned back.

"Well, any specific color you prefer?" Nathan asked.

"Not really. As long as it's not pink." She said smiling.

"No problem." He said and stared at Haley. Neither moved for a second. Then Haley started to slowly walk towards him. When she got right in front of him, she stopped. Then she slowly reached for something. Nathan could feel Haley's hot breath on his neck. Nathan closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Then Haley took a few steps back holding Nathan's sweatshirt. She was grinning.

"I'm gonna go wait in the kitchen. You should go with the faded jeans and the red Abercrombie shirt." She said while putting on the black sweatshirt. She was almost out the door when she turned around. "Love the nipple ring." She said and winked before disappearing behind the corner.

Nathan stood motionless for few seconds. Then he put on the faded jeans and the red shirt as instructed. He started to walk downstairs towards the kitchen. When he got there he saw that the party was in full swing already. The music was load and people were dancing everywhere. He looked around until he saw a small person wearing a black sweatshirt with the numbers '23' on the back. Nathan started to walk towards her. When he got closer he saw that Haley was trying to reach for a glass from the cabinet. Nathan walked behind her.

"Need some help?" he whispered in Haley's ear. Even though Haley was wearing a sweatshirt she shivered when she felt his breath on her cheek and ear.

"Hand me the glass, will ya." She said.

"Sure thing, gorgeous." He said. Haley smiled. Haley turned around so she was facing him. Nathan held the glass for her. "I see you found your margaritas." He said when he saw the pint of the red liquid on the counter next to her.

"It was kinda hard to miss with the big sign taped on the side saying 'Haley's! Anyone else: touch and die!'." Haley finished smiling.

"Just wanted to make sure nobody touched your drink." He said.

"Thanks. I love margs." Haley said while taking a sip.

"I know." He said and winked. Nathan took a small bottle of vodka from the top drawer. "Let's get out of here." He said. Haley just nodded and took the glass and the pint with her. Haley could feel Nathan's hand through the sweatshirt on her back, guiding her towards the door. They went up on the balcony and sat down on a wooden bench that faced the ocean. Haley placed the pint of margaritas on a table that was next to them. Most of the people were hanging on the beach so they had the balcony all to their selves. It was starting to get dark. They were both quiet for a while.

"So..." they started at the same time. They laughed.

"You go first." Haley said.

"Ok, I was just wondering if you've heard from parents. They were visiting your sister in Chicago, right?" Haley looked at Nathan surprised that he had remembered.

"Yeah, they called me earlier today. They're heading to Minneapolis to visit Vivian, my other sister."

"How many brothers and sisters do you have?" Nathan asked laughing.

"Too many." Haley said laughing. Nathan nodded for her to continue. "I have three brothers: Matthew, Brian and Chris and three sisters: Quinn, Vivian and Taylor." Haley said.

"Brian and Chris James..." Nathan said out load. He knew he had heard those names before.

"They played basketball." Haley said.

"They won state in their junior and senior years." Nathan said when he remembered.

"Yeah, if I remember correctly, on their senior year they beat West on the first round." Haley said smiling.

"I was watching that game with my dad!" Nathan said.

"Me too." Haley said smiling. "My parents used to take all of us to watch every game any of us had." Haley said smiling.

"Did your other brother play basketball?"

"Matt? He's the oldest. I was like 6 when he was in high school so I don't remember much. He played football and he was even pretty good but he quit after college."

"What about your sisters?"

"Vivian and Quinn were both in the volleyball team. They made it to state one year but lost on the semi-finals. Vivian is a junior in college and Quinn is graduating this fall."

"How about your third sister..." Nathan asked trying to remember the name.

"Taylor? She's the black sheep in our family." Haley said and sighed. "She was a senior when we were freshmen. She quit college two years ago and last time I heard from her, 3 months ago, she was working in some Coyote Ugly type of bar in Kansas." Haley said quietly. "She's the reason I work so hard for school. I don't wanna put my parents through the same she did. And keeping a perfect 4.0 GPA should be enough." Haley finished.

"Is it?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, I guess. My parents trust me, sometimes even too much. That's why they're on the other side of the country because they trust me to take care of myself. Which I do. They are always joking and acting stupid which is really funny and cool but sometimes I just wish that they would act like adults. Like real parents, you know." Haley said.

"But don't get me wrong!" Haley then started. "I love my parents and I couldn't hope for a better family. So I really shouldn't be complaining about them, you know." Haley said. She knew how bad things were at Nathan's house so she didn't wanna sound like a whiny little bitch just because her parents trusted her too much.

"Yeah, I totally get you." Nathan said understanding Haley's dilemma.

"Yeah, but enough about me." Haley suddenly said. "How come your parents let you use the beach house so often?"

"My dad doesn't care. He thinks this is his way of good parenting. Apparently me getting wasted and partying every weekend helps me grow up and become a responsible young man. What a loud of bull." Nathan said. He was looking at the ocean with a sad face.

"How about your mom?"

"She's never home and when she is she doesn't wanna know about it. It's like if she doesn't know about it, she doesn't have to do anything about it."

"Hear no evil..." Haley muttered.

"...see no evil. Exactly." Nathan finished. They both sat there in silence Nathan's arm still around Haley.

"Parents suck." Haley suddenly said and they both laughed.

"Yeah, I think we've already established that." Nathan said. "But I say screw 'em. I'm not gonna let my dad ruin this party." Nathan said proudly.

"Cheers!" Haley said happily and they both drank.

"So, you excited about soccer?" Nathan asked.

"The season doesn't start till after the spring break but yeah, I can't wait." She said excited.

"That's cool. The basketball try-outs are on Monday."

"Oh yeah, that's right. That's kinda early, don't you think." Haley said.

"Yeah, but apparently the coach wants to have the team together as early as possible."

"That's good. Can't wait for the games to start. Lucas is always so excited before the first game." Haley said smiling. She could feel Nathan stiffen up at the mention of his half-brother.

"Is he any good?" Nathan asked nonchalantly.

"You've played against him. You know he is." Haley said.

"Yeah, I guess." Nathan said.

"And speaking of you and Lucas, I don't think you two have even seen each other since Tuesday." Haley said grinning. Nathan groaned when he remembered that he and Lucas promised to get to know each other.

"Don't worry." Haley started. "I won't do anything about it until after the race. After the race it's project 'Scott brothers united!' and there's nothing either of you can do or say to stop me." Haley said laughing. Nathan just groaned.

"Hey, speaking of the race." Nathan started trying to change the subject. Haley stiffened up at the mention of it. "It's next Saturday, right?" Nathan asked even though he knew it was.

"Yeah, it's at your uncle's race track, right?"

"Yeah, he's the best." Nathan said. "So, any chance on telling me who your racer is?" Nathan asked while grinning madly.

"I will if you will." Haley said without thinking. She was shocked that she was actually willing to tell him that she was the driver for the Easts. They both stared at each other in shock.

"You first." Nathan said.

"No, you first." Haley said panicking. Nathan gulped.

"Tim." He finally said. He just couldn't tell her that he was the racer.

"Yeah, we kinda figured that out already." Haley said while being proud that they had been right about Tim. If only she knew...

"So, what about yours?" Nathan asked.

"Our driver?" Haley asked. "Our driver is..." _Here we go,_ Haley thought. _I'm gonna tell him._ "It's m-"

"It's Lucas, right?" Nathan cut her off before she got the chance to tell him it was her.

"What?" Haley asked.

"It's Lucas, right?" Nathan asked grinning. Haley just stared at her for few seconds.

"Yeah." Haley finally said. She just couldn't bring herself to tell him the truth, especially when he already thought it was someone else.

They both stared at the ocean feeling guilty that they had lied to each other. Then simultaneously they took big sips from their drinks.


	9. Chapter 7b

Hey, guys. Since today is my birthday I decided to update the second part of chapter 7 already. There's some Brucas in this chapter for all of you Brucas fans. Anyways, thank you all so much for all the great reviews! You guys rock! Hope you enjoy this and please lemme know what you think. Cheers.

Chapter 7b

"Remind me again why we can't tell Haley." Brooke asked from Lucas. They were standing in the kitchen getting her a drink.

"Brooke, I've told you five times already."

"Actually seven. But I need to hear it again." She said.

"We can't tell her because when we were in fifth grade we made a pact that we would never start dating a West." Lucas sighed.

"That's stupid. That was fifth grade. Besides, looks like she's getting along pretty well with Nathan." Brooke said.

"She's just tutoring him." Lucas said angrily.

"Whatever. All I know is that I've never seen Nathan acting like this." Brooke said.

"Like what?" Lucas asked.

"He's actually nice to people. He cares about school and other people's feelings. And the way he looks at Haley." Brooke finished.

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked gripping the counter hard.

"Just the way he looks at her. He really cares about her. All I'm saying is that Haley doesn't seem to mind breaking your little pact. Are you sure she even remembers it?" Brooke asked.

"Of course she does." Lucas said quickly. But really he had no idea. They haven't talked about that since that day in fifth grade.

"Uhhuh." Brooke said not believing him.

"The point is that we can't tell her because she'll get upset. We've been friends forever and it's always been us two against the world. If she finds out I'm dating a West, she'll feel like an outsider and I don't want that. There's so much going on in her life and I don't want to add this into it." He said thinking about the race.

"We can't hide this forever." Brooke said. "_I_ won't hide this forever."

"We'll tell everyone after the race." Lucas then said. It was the perfect timing. The race would be over and hopefully also East and West. There would be only one Tree Hill.

"Really? We'll tell them?" Brooke asked happily.

"Of course." Lucas said and smiled at the happy look on her face.

"I don't know why but I just got really horny." She said grinning and started to drag him upstairs.

"Brooke, we can't." Lucas said laughing. Brooke was dragging him to one of the empty bedrooms.

"Lucas, I haven't kissed you at all tonight. My lips are feeling abandoned." She said grinning.

"Someone might see us." Lucas protested.

"No one's gonna see us. Everyone's at the beach and we'll lock the door." Brooke said while pushing him inside the bedroom. She locked the door and turned to look at him with a huge grin on her face. Lucas was sitting on the bed looking at her.

"You're crazy, you know that, right." Lucas said laughing.

"No! You not telling Haley about us, _that's_ crazy. Me wanting to have some fun with my boyfriend, that's just being horny." Brooke said grinning. She started to slowly walk towards him and each step she took, she unbuttoned one button from her shirt. Lucas gulped when he saw a flash of red bra under the shirt. Brooke just smiled when he saw the lust in his eyes. She sat on Lucas' lap so that she was straddling him. She kissed him on the neck.

"Fasten your seat belt, Mr. Scott. 'Cause you're about to get the ride of your life." She grinned before attacking his lips with her own.

--------

"...so we paid the bouncer and got in the strip club. It was only after we had gotten inside that we saw that the place was filled with women. At first we were like "hell yeah" but then we saw the huge 'Ladies night' -sign on the wall." Nathan finished and Haley burst out laughing.

"Nice!" Haley laughed.

"So, you got any embarrassing stories to tell me?" Nathan asked and wiggled his eyebrows.

"No, not really."

"Come on..."

"No, I really don't have any." She said.

"There's gotta be something." Nathan said and then noticed that the margarita pint was almost empty. "Come on, let's go get you a refill. And while we do that, you're gonna tell me one embarrassing story."

"I told you already. I really don't have any." She said laughing. They were walking towards the stairs on the second floor.

"There's gotta be-"

"Shhh! Do you hear that?" Haley asked and stopped.

"Hear what?" Nathan asked confused.

"Shhh! Listen!" Haley said and pressed her ear against the door of one of the bedrooms.

"I can't hear anything." Nathan said while looking at Haley.

"Press your ear against the door." Haley whispered.

"No, there's no one there."

"I hear two voices." Haley mumbled ignoring Nathan.

"Come on, let's go.

"A male and a female." She muttered still ignoring him.

"Come on, Haley."

"I think they're having sex!" she said and turned to look at Nathan with a grin. Only Nathan was not standing behind her anymore. He was standing on her other side, ear pressed against the door.

"I told you-" Haley started.

"Shhh!" Nathan whispered loudly. Haley just giggled. After a while the sounds quieted down behind the door.

"Come on, Nate. Let's go." Haley finally said and dragged him away. As soon as they were gone, the door opened and a shirtless Lucas peaked outside.

"Was someone there?" Brooke's voice came behind him.

"I don't know. We should leave before we get caught." Lucas said.

"Oh, we're not done yet, silly." Brooke said grinning. She pulled him back in the room, locked the door and threw him on the bed before he had time to say 'help me'.

"Now, where were we?" she muttered before jumping on the bed.

-----

"They were definitely having sex." Haley said laughing when they were walking downstairs to the kitchen.

"Totally. What do you wanna drink?" Nathan asked.

"Actually, I don't really feel like getting wasted tonight." Haley said smiling. She had a feeling something would happen tonight and she wanted to stay sober.

"Really? Me neither." Nathan said.

"Yeah, first time for everything, right?"

"Yeah, you want something else to drink?"

"You got any ice tea?"

"Yeah, peach or lemon."

"Peach, no question about it." She said. Nathan took two glasses out and poured some ice tea on them.

"Thanks."

"Hey, you wanna go back to the balcony?" Nathan asked grinning.

"You just wanna find out if they're still having sex in that bedroom." Haley said laughing.

"Who? Me? No..." he said innocently.

"Come on, let's go out on the beach." Haley said and took a hold of his hand. They walked for a while so they got some privacy from the rest of people who were partying on the beach. They sat on the sand near the water.

"What's you favorite food?" Nathan suddenly asked. Haley turned to look at him with a surprised face.

"What? Where did that come from?" she asked and laughed.

"Just wondering."

"Macaroni and cheese, if you must know." Haley said. She burst out laughing when she saw the look on his face.

"It's the food of the gods, alright?" Haley said. Haley could hear Nathan mumbling something about five-year-old gods but she couldn't be sure.

"So, what's yours?" Haley asked. "No wait, lemme guess. Prime rib." She said.

"How did you know?" Nathan asked surprised.

"I'm a psychic." Haley said and winked.

"More like a psycho." Nathan said. Haley burst out laughing when she remembered Lucas saying those exact same words.

"What's so funny?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing, never mind." Haley said and ran her hand through her hair. Nathan stared at her and couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. Haley turned to look at him and noticed him staring.

"What? Is there something on my face?" she asked and started to rub her face.

"Naw, there's nothing there." He said and smiled.

"Ok..." she said smiling.

"You should know that you look really beautiful tonight." Nathan finally said. It was new to them both. Nathan had never called any girl beautiful. And no guy had never called Haley that.

"What? But-? That's-" she stuttered but then fell silent. "Thanks." She finally said. "You're not looking too bad either." She said and grinned.

"Why, thank you. I had some help with the clothes." He said smiling.

"Actually, me too. See, this isn't my sweatshirt." Haley said playing along.

"Well, it looks very good on you." Nathan said.

"Thank you. And I like the number, 23. I'm thinking about tattooing it above my ass." Haley said and burst out laughing at the thought.

"Nice..." Nathan said picturing the image of his jersey number on Haley's butt.

"Stop picturing my ass!" Haley said and smacked him lightly on the hand. Nathan took a hold of it.

"Much better." He said still holding Haley's hand. "What's your jersey number?" Nathan asked.

"For soccer? 18." Haley said.

"Maybe I'll tattoo that on my ass." Nathan said joking.

"Yeah, I can imagine. 1 on the left cheek and 8 on the right. Very sexy." Haley said sarcastically. They both started laughing.

"I think so too." He just said. Haley looked around and noticed it was pitch black already.

"Wow, it got dark fast." She said and looked at the night sky. Nathan did so too.

"Do you know what that star is?" Nathan asked holding Haley's hand and pointing it at the bright star.

"No, what is it?" Haley asked quietly after a while. The spot on her hand where Nathan was touching seemed to take all her attention.

"I don't know. I thought you might have known." Nathan said. Haley chuckled. "But I'm gonna name it Nathan." He finished smiling. Haley started to laugh.

"You know, you're unbelievable-"

"Thank you."

"-but fairly predictable." Haley said and laughed at the shocked look on his face.

"Predictable? I'm not predictable." Nathan said and faked hurt.

"You are. But it's ok. There's nothing wrong with-"

Haley got cut off by Nathan's lips. On her lips. The kiss was small and sweet. When it was over they both stared at each other with shocked faces. It might have been minutes but in reality only seconds that they stared at each other in shock.

"Was that predictable?" Nathan asked slowly still staring at her.

"Is this?" Haley asked and pulled Nathan closer to her so she could really kiss her. Nathan was too shocked to do anything at first but when he snapped out of his shock, he kissed her hungrily back. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. This time the kiss was longer and more passionate. They only stopped when they were in serious need of air.

"23 and 18. Has a nice ring to it, don't ya think." Nathan said smiling. He was still holding Haley close to him.

"Yeah, it does. But do you know what sounds better than 23 and 18?" Haley paused for a second to let him guess. When he just shrugged his shoulders, she continued. "18 and 23." She said laughing.

"Oh, hell no, girl. Do _not_ start with me." Nathan warned her while laughing.

"Or else?" she asked grinning. Nathan just shrugged and threw Haley over his shoulder and started to walk towards the water. Haley was screaming and laughing and trying her best to get off but Nathan wouldn't let her.

"Nathan! Let me go!" she screamed for the 8th time.

"Nope, not until you say that 23 and 18 sounds better than 18 and 23." He said grinning.

"Never!"

"Ok, then." He said and prepared to throw her in the water.

"No!" she yelled and held onto Nathan.

"Say it." he said.

"Fine! 23 and 18 sounds better than 18 and 23." She finally yelled. Nathan walked a few steps back and lowered Haley on the ground.

"Come on, let's go back." Nathan said and started to walk towards the bonfire where the rest of the party people were. Haley just stared at his back with a devilish grin. Then she sprinted towards him and tried to push him in the water. In which she succeeded. She also tried not to get wet herself. In which she didn't succeed. When Nathan went flying in the water he grabbed Haley with her. They were trying to push each other under the water with bad success because they were both laughing so hard. After a while they got tired and cold.

"I need warm clothes." Nathan said while getting out of the water.

"I need _dry_ clothes." Haley said. They ran quickly back to the house and went into Nathan's bedroom.

"Clothes, clothes, clothes..." Nathan mumbled while pulling out everything he had in the closets.

"I need to get this thing off me." Haley said while trying to take the big, wet sweatshirt off of her. Nathan stopped in his tracks and just stared at Haley who was busy trying to dry her hair. Her jeans were soaked and the small white tank top that Haley had been wearing under the sweatshirt was completely wet so Nathan could see her baby blue bra through the wet fabric.

"Nathan, I need clothes." Haley said turning to face him. Nathan snapped out of his thoughts and gave her a clean pair of black sweatpants and a dark green sweatshirt. Haley stood there for a while holding the clothes and looking at Nathan who just kept staring at her.

"Would you mind...?" Haley finally asked and twirled her finger around as if asking him to turn around.

"Yeah! Sure. Sorry. I'm just gonna..." Nathan stuttered and pointed at the rest of the clothes on the bed and started to fold them and put them back in the closet. Haley looked at him for few seconds and couldn't help but notice how well his soaking shirt fit him. And how much she just wanted to rip it off. Haley blushed at the thought and quickly changed her clothes. When Haley turned around to face Nathan she saw the he wasn't done with changing clothes yet. He had just taken off his jeans and shirt and was in the process of finding dry, clean clothes. He looked on his right and noticed Haley looking at him.

"Like what you see?" He asked smirking. Haley blushed and turned to gather her clothes from the floor.

"I'm just gonna find a place to hang these." Haley mumbled while leaving the room with her wet clothes. She went to the balcony and hung the clothes on the back of the chairs. She walked back to Nathan's room. He (un)fortunately had his clothes already on.

"Disappointed?" Nathan asked while pointing at his clothes. Haley just rolled her eyes. "Come on." Nathan said and took a hold of Haley's hand.

"Where are we going?" Haley asked when they got downstairs.

"Back to the beach. We need to get us some marshmallows." He said and put his arm around her shoulders. They got to the bonfire and sat down close to it. Nathan went to find them a bag of marshmallows and a stick. He then sat down next to Haley, put some marshmallows on the stick and set it close to the fire. They sat there in silence for a while, just staring at the fire.

"Ok, so I gotta ask something from you because I gotta know and if I don't it's just gonna drive me crazy which is stupid because it's just a question but a really important one at least for me and I just really need to-" Nathan silenced Haley's babbling with a kiss.

"You can ask me anything." He said smiling at her. Haley smiled sheepishly.

"Ok, so I just have to know that are we dating now or is this just some kind of one night thing for you?" Haley asked quietly. She bit her lip waiting for the answer.

"Is that what you think of me? That tomorrow I would just act like nothing had happened?" Nathan asked a little bit upset. He leaned back and looked at her with a sad and a disappointed face.

"No, no! I've never really been in this situation before and I just have to know where we stand." Haley quickly said. Nathan smiled, wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer for a kiss.

"Yeah, I'd say we're dating..." he said and kissed her and then added "...girlfriend." Haley smiled at the word and kissed him again.

"I agree, boyfriend." She said and looked at the fire again. "The marshmallows are on fire." She said and laughed when Nathan quickly jumped up and started to wave the stick back and forth in the air. He then looked at the brown sticky stuff and huffed in annoyance.

"We can't eat these." He said while throwing the stick somewhere behind them. He sat down next to Haley.

"It's ok. We'll get them next time. I didn't even really-" Haley started to say but got cut off by Tim and the rest of his gang.

"Whaddup Scott-man!" he yelled while trying to do a hand shake thing with Nathan.

"Hey, Tim." Nathan said and waived his hand towards the rest of the group.

"Hale-ster! Waddup girl!" Tim yelled.

"How's it going, Tim?" Haley asked and nodded his head to the rest of the guys.

"It's going fantastic!" he yelled. Haley and Nathan looked at each other smiling. Tim was clearly drunk. Then Tim saw what Haley was wearing.

"Is she wearing your clothes?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, so?" Nathan asked.

"So, what are you two, like dating?" Tim asked like it was the funniest thing in the world. Haley had a deja vu from last weekend. She turned to look at Nathan and raised her right eyebrow as if waiting for him to say something. She needed Nathan to do this. Nathan looked between Haley and the group of guys who were eagerly waiting for his response. Then he put his arm around Haley.

"Yeah, we are." He said while looking at Haley who started grinning widely. Then Nathan turned towards the group of guys. "Guys, this is Haley." The guys said their heys. "Haley, these are the guys."

"What's up?" she said and nodded in their direction. Everyone was quiet for a while.

"Well, since we are out of alcohol..." Tim started and left with the rest of the guys.

"Take it easy, Tim." Nathan said.

"Later, Nate." He yelled before disappearing into the house. Nathan turned to look at Haley who was still grinning widely. Haley threw her arms around him and hugged him so hard he almost had trouble breathing.

"Whoa! What was that for?" He asked when Haley finally let go. She started to kiss him in the neck.

"Nothing." She said between kisses.

"No, tell me." Nathan insisted. Haley looked up.

"Do you really want to talk right now?" she asked grinning. Nathan looked at her for a while.

"Not really, no." he said before starting to kiss her back.

-------

"Are you sure you have to go?" Nathan asked for the 10th time. They were still sitting by the bonfire.

"Yes, I do. I'm working tomorrow and Luke is probably freaking out already. Haven't seen him since we got here." Haley said while starting to get up. Nathan helped her up and they started to walk towards the house. Haley suddenly got nervous. How would Lucas react when he found out that Haley was dating his worst enemy?

They walked inside the house Nathan's arm around Haley. Lucas smiled when he saw Haley but as soon as he saw Nathan next to her, his smile turned into an angry scowl. He then noticed what Haley was wearing. A pair or men's sweats and a sweatshirt that obviously belonged to Nathan. Lucas walked angrily towards them.

"What the fuck is this?"

"Lucas-" Haley tried.

"What are you, dating him now!"

"Luke-"

"And you're wearing his clothes!" he yelled angrily.

"Luke-"

"So, apparently tutoring wasn't enough!"

"Luke-"

"Now you're fucking him too!" he yelled. Up until that point Nathan had kept quiet not wanting to interfere. But now Lucas had gone too far.

"Hey!" he yelled and stepped forward. Haley put her arm on his to stop him.

"Not now, Nathan." She said and turned back to Lucas. "We have to talk." She said.

"About what!" Lucas yelled.

"Let's just get out of here and I'll-"

"You'll what, Haley! Explain everything! Tell me how he's changed and how he is actually a really nice guy!" Lucas said sarcastically.

"Well-"

"I don't wanna hear it!" he yelled and ran he's hand through his hair. "Goddammit, Haley! You have a 4.0 GPA! You can't be this stupid!"

"Luke-"

"Don't you see! He's just messing with you! He doesn't care about you. He doesn't care about anyone!"

"That's not true!" Haley yelled. Suddenly her night had gone from the best night ever to a complete disaster.

Lucas stared at her quiet for a while.

"Luke, let's just get out of here and calm down and talk." Haley said quietly.

"No, you stay here with your new _boyfriend_." He said and the last word with disgust. "I'm gone." He said and left.

"Luke!" Haley started to run after him but someone stopped her.

"Let me." Brooke said and went after Lucas. Haley stood frozen not knowing what to do or say. She saw Brooke trying to calm Lucas down and then them getting into his truck. Lucas looked back at the house and Haley one last time with a nasty face. Then they drove away. Haley quickly wiped the tears that had formed on the corner of her eyes. Nathan came and hugged her from behind.

"You ok?" he whispered in her ear and kissed her on the head. Haley stared at the empty driveway with a sad face.

"No. Not even close." She whispered so quietly Nathan almost didn't hear her.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Haley just sighed and didn't move. "You can stay here too if you want to."

"I should go home." Haley whispered holding back her tears.

"Ok, let's go." Nathan said.

"You should stay. I don't want you to leave your own party." Haley said turning around in his arms. Nathan saw how hard she was trying to hold back her tears and how miserable she looked.

"Don't worry about that. I'll take you." He said.

"Nathan, I don't want you to take me." Haley whispered. Nathan looked at her with a hurt face but didn't say anything. Haley closed her eyes for a second and then opened them with a fresh set of tears.

"I don't want you to take me because I don't want you to see me break down." She whispered.

"Haley-"

"And I don't know how much longer I can hold it together." She finished quietly.

"But how will you get home?" Nathan asked a little bit louder. Peyton, who was standing across the room heard that and turned to look at him.

"Sorry to interrupt but do you need a ride, Haley?" Peyton asked. Haley turned to look at the blonde with a small smile.

"Yeah, if it's not a problem." She said.

"Of course not. I'm gonna go get the car. I'll wait you out front. Take your time. Thanks for the party, Nate." She said and left.

"I should go." Haley said and started to leave. She had walked about 5 steps when she suddenly froze. Then she turned around and ran back to Nathan and hugged him fiercely. Nathan didn't know what to say so he just held her.

"I'm so sorry, Haley." Nathan said feeling guilty. He felt like it was his fault that Lucas was mad at Haley.

"No, it's not your fault, ok!" Haley said and turned to look at him in the eyes. "This is not your fault!" she said.

"If it wasn't for me, you and Lucas would still be talking." Nathan said guiltily.

"But then I wouldn't get to be with you. Lucas will come around. He just needs time." Haley said trying to convince him and also herself.

"Let's hope so." Nathan said and kissed her. Haley kissed him back.

"I gotta go. I don't want Peyton to wait too long." She said and kissed him once more.

"Ok." He said and walked her to the door. "Are you gonna be ok?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah, don't worry. Lucas will come around. G'nite Nate." Haley said and started to walk towards the car that was parked in front of the house.

"I'll call you tomorrow." He said and waved at the girls. Haley sat down on the passenger seat and waved back. Then they drove away. Nathan stayed at the door for a second and looked at the red back lights of the car. Tim came and put his hand on his shoulder.

"That was rough." Tim said talking about the fight between Lucas and Haley.

"You heard them?" Nathan asked. He hadn't realized that they had been that loud.

"Dude, everybody heard them." Tim said. "You ok?" he asked. Nathan looked at Tim and sighed.

"I am if she is." He said.

"You really like her, don't you?" Tim asked looking at Nathan.

"Yeah, I do." Nathan said. He turned to look at Tim and waited for the insults of him dating an East. Tim just looked at him.

"Good for you, buddy." He said and patted him on the shoulder before going back inside.

-------

"You sure you don't want me to hang out with you?" Peyton asked. They were parked on the street in front of Haley's house. Peyton had tried to cheer Haley up the whole ride there without success.

"I just need some sleep." Haley said and smiled weakly. "Thanks Peyton. For the ride and everything." Haley said and smiled sincerely at the girl.

"Anytime. Good night, Haley. Try to get some sleep." She said.

"Good night." Haley said and got out of the car. "Jake's lucky to have you." Haley said before closing the door.

Haley walked to her front door. She had trouble finding her keys because her hands were shaking so much. The tears were starting to fall down her cheeks. She opened the door and got in quickly. She slammed the door shut and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She looked around on the darkness and realized she was alone. She heard nothing but silence. That's when she collapsed. She leaned on the front door and let out a loud sob. She put her hands over her mouth and tried to muffle her sobs. She stayed in that position –back against the door, arms around her knees and hands covering her face- until exhaustion came over and she fell asleep.

-----------

Ok, so how was it? What was good? What was bad? What would you change? Please, review. :)  
-Fes-


	10. Chapter 8

Sorry it's been a while since the last update. What can I say, school's a bitch. Anyways, thank you all for all the great reviews! You guys rule! Anyways, here's chapter 8. Hope you enjoy. Remember to review:)

Chapter 8

After waking up about the 4th time that night, Haley finally got up from the floor. She climbed the stairs and went into her room. She pulled the covers over herself and drifted off to sleep.

Next morning she woke up feeling awful. Her head was pounding because of crying so much and her eyes were red and puffy. She looked at her watch and saw that she only had 30 minutes to get ready for work. She had just gotten out of the shower when her cell phone started to ring. She ran to the phone.

"Lucas?" Haley asked hopefully.

"No, it's me. Nathan. How are you feeling?" he asked concerned. Haley sighed.

"Like crap." She finally said.

"Haley, I'm so sorry." He said feeling guilty.

"You have no reason to be sorry." Haley said. She really didn't blame him for anything.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.

"For instance, you can stop saying you're sorry." Haley said smiling a little.

"Done. Anything else I can do?"

"No, just the homework I gave you." She said.

"Already working on it. You wanna hang out today?"

"Can't. I'm working at Keith's and right after that at Karen's." Haley said and sighed.

"Oh, well I'll guess I'll see you tomorrow at school then." Nathan said disappointed.

"Yeah, I guess." She said. "Actually, there's one thing you can do for me." Haley then said.

"Really? What?" Nathan asked curious.

"Give me a ride to school tomorrow." Haley said.

"Sure." Nathan said. Haley looked at her watch and cursed.

"I gotta go before I'm late." Haley said.

"Ok, I'll call you tonight. Bye, Haley."

"Bye." Haley hung up. She looked at the phone and then dialled Lucas' number. She let it ring for a while but then sighed and hung up. He wasn't answering. She quickly put some clothes on and left for work.

On her way to work, she stopped in front of Lucas' house. She noticed that the truck was on the street so she went to knock on his door. He didn't answer and when she tried the door, it was locked. Lucas never locked his door. Haley sighed knowing that it was because of her that he had locked his door. He didn't want to see her so Haley left.

She and Lucas had made plans to hang out at the garage and work on the car in the morning. Haley doubted she was gonna see him there. And unfortunately she was right. Haley worked on the car for about three hours and left for Karen's café for her shift in there.

All day Haley tried to call Lucas but he never answered. Haley went to his house twice but his door always remained locked. It was almost seven and her shift at the café was almost over. Karen, who had been working since the morning decided that now was her time to speak up. The café was empty so no one could bother them. All day she had noticed that Haley wasn't herself. She hadn't talked to Karen a word and she hadn't smiled a real smile to any of her customers. Not that they noticed, but Karen had. Karen signaled for Haley to come behind the counter where she was. Haley stopped wiping the tables and went to Karen.

"Haley, are you ok?" Karen asked with a worried voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" she asked trying to sound cheerful. But Karen was smarter than that.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Haley thought about lying to her but then she sighed.

"Lucas and I got into a fight last night." Haley said.

"What happened?" she asked. Haley looked at her. She couldn't tell her. She didn't want her to hate her too.

"Nothing." She said and sighed.

"Haley, please tell me." Karen pleaded. She loved the girl and wanted to help her but she couldn't if she didn't know what was wrong.

"I don't want to tell you." Haley finally said. Karen looked at her concerned. "I don't want you to hate me like Lucas does." Haley finally said. She blinked the tears away that were starting to form on the corner of her eyes. Karen looked at the girl in front of her and hugged her.

"I could never hate you. And neither could Lucas." She said. They both sat down on the kitchen counter.

"What happened? I know you were at Nathan's party last night and something must have happened there because when Lucas came home, he went straight to his room without coming to say anything to me. And he locked the door." Karen said.

"Where should I start?" Haley wondered. "Well, did Lucas tell you I was tutoring Nathan?" Karen nodded her head. "Well, I've been hanging out with him so much during the last week in classes, during lunch and at tutoring center that somewhere during all of that we became friends. More than friends actually." She said and looked at Karen expecting to see a disappointed face. Karen just smiled a little at her and asked her to continue.

"Last night Nathan held a party and Lucas and I both went there. I hung out with Nathan and we kissed. We talked about it and we decided to start dating. When Lucas found out he went crazy." Haley said and sighed. "I don't blame him really. He has hated Nathan for so long and now his best friend just started dating him. How selfish am I?" Haley asked and turned to look at Karen.

"You're not selfish, Haley. You're one of the sweetest persons I know and I've always thought of you as my daughter. And those facts won't change no matter who you date." Karen said and put her arm around her.

"I know how it feels to be in love with a Scott. It can be the most amazing thing. And even after everything I had to put up with Dan and all the heartache, I got something no man can ever give me. Lucas. Even though Lucas was the best thing that ever happened to me, I don't want you or anyone else to make the same mistakes as I did. Just be yourself, trust your instincts and keep your eyes open." Karen said and squeezed Haley's shoulder. "Lucas will come around." She said.

"Thanks, Karen." Haley said and hugged the small woman fiercely. "You're the best mom anyone could have." She whispered. Karen hugged the girl back.

"You should go home, Haley. Take a bath, go to bed early." Karen said. "This weekend has been long enough for you."

"Ok." She said and smiled at Karen. Haley hugged Karen one more time, took her purse and left.

Exactly one hour later Haley was getting out of the bath tub. She had been there for about 30 minutes when she decided it was time to get up. She wrapped a towel around herself and turned off the cd-player she had in the bathroom. She went to her room and changed into her pyjamas. She went into the living room and took her cell phone out of the charger. She was about to call the pizza delivery when her cell phone started to ring. Haley looked at the caller i.d.

"Hi, Nate." She answered.

"Hey, gorgeous. Where you at?" he asked.

"Home." Haley said smiling. "What about you?"

"Outside your front door. So get your cute lil' ass here and open the door." Nathan said smirking. Haley flipped the phone shut and went to open the door. She opened the door and indeed there was Nathan.

"Hey!" she said excited. Nathan opened his arms.

"Can't a guy get a hug from his girlfriend?" Nathan asked joking. Haley smiled at him and hugged him.

"Come in." She said and they both got in. Haley then noticed that Nathan was carrying a bag. "Whatcha got there?" Haley said.

"Nice outfit." Nathan said when he noticed that she was wearing a tank top and a pair of pyjama pants that were white with tiny black cars in them.

"Thanks. What's in the bag?" Haley asked again.

"Chinese take away." Nathan said. Haley looked at him with wide eyes.

"Seriously?"

"Uhhuh. Figured you probably haven't eaten anything today." Nathan said.

"You are a god!" Haley said snatching the bag from him. Haley started to go through the bag.

"So I've been told." Nathan said smirking.

"And you got egg rolls!" Haley squealed. She set the small containers on the living room table and got them plates.

"What's on TV?" Nathan said. He grabbed the remote and started to go through the channels until they heard a familiar tune on MTV.

_So, if you wanna be a player._

_But your wheels ain't fly._

_You gotta hit us up,_

_to get a pimped up ride._

"Pimp my rideeeee." Haley and Nathan both sang.

"I love this show." Haley said while eating some chinese.

"Me too." Nathan said. "I love fast cars."

"Me too!" Haley said. "Hey, speaking of fast cars... Didn't you get into an accident sometime ago?" Haley asked concerned.

"Yeah, it was my "end of school year" –party at the beginning of summer and we were all wasted. Someone got the genius idea to race. We were all pretty drunk and I crashed Peyton's car."

"Drinking and driving? Nathan, that's stupid." Haley said a little bit disappointed.

"Yeah, I know. Haven't raced since." Nathan said. He wasn't exactly lying. He hadn't raced after the accident but he also didn't mention that he was going to race the next Saturday.

"Did you get caught?"

"My dad took care of everything."

"Good." Haley said and took another bite from her food. "You didn't get hurt, did you?" Haley asked concerned.

"No, I got lucky." He said. He looked at Haley who was busy getting food from the containers and watching X make fun of another crappy car. Nathan couldn't help but notice that even though she had no makeup on and hair was still wet from the shower, she looked more beautiful than ever. Haley noticed him staring.

"What's wrong? Do I have something on my mouth?" she said and started wipe her mouth thinking there was some sauce or something on it. Nathan just smirked and pulled Haley on his lap.

"Yeah, you've got something on your mouth." Nathan said smirking. "My mouth." He said and started kissing her. Haley dropped the plate of food on the floor but didn't notice it. She wrapped her hands around his neck and started to draw circles on his neck with her nails. Nathan pulled her as close as possible and kissed her even more passionately.

After Pimp My Ride was over and half of the food was on the floor, they separated.

"So, I think it's your time to give me a tour around the house." Nathan said grinning when he noticed Haley's swollen lips from all the kissing.

"Sure but there's not much to see." Haley said and got up. The second she left Nathan's arms she felt cold and lonely. They quickly cleaned the living room before starting their tour. She showed him the basement, the kitchen, the living room, her parents bedroom, her siblings' bedrooms and finally her own.

"Is this your family?" Nathan asked. He was looking at a framed picture in Haley's room that had her parents and a bunch of kids in it.

"Yeah, that was taken about 6 years ago at Christmas. The last time we were all together. Nowadays it seems that you need a crisis to get this family together." Haley said smiling.

"Are you wearing braces?" Nathan asked smiling.

"Why don't you give me that..." Haley blushed and snatched the photo frame from his hand. "I'm gonna go hide this." She said while leaving the room. Nathan looked around and saw a bunch of other framed pictures on her desk. Most of them had Haley, Lucas and Jake in them. Some were taken recently, others in the elementary school.

There were also few pictures of Haley and what Nathan assumed to be her brothers and sisters. One framed picture had been turned over so you couldn't see the picture. Nathan turned it over and saw that it was a picture of a young Haley and another young girl. They were both hugging each other and smiling at the camera. Right then Haley walked in the room. She looked at Nathan and then the familiar frame in his hands. She took it from him.

"Who's the other girl?" Nathan asked.

"Taylor." Haley said and sighed.

"Your sister Taylor?" Nathan asked.

"Yep."

"She's the..." Nathan said searching for a word.

"Disgrace of our family, yes." Haley said. She put the frame back on the desk front turned down. "We used to be best friends. You know, when we were kids." Haley started. "We were even closer than Lucas and I are. Were. I don't know." Haley said confused.

"What happened?" Nathan asked.

"High school." Haley said. "She started drinking and smoking and skipping classes. She could barely graduate. My theory is that the teachers just wanted to get rid of her." Haley said. They left the room and went back downstairs.

"I should start doing my homework." Haley said.

"Yeah, me too. Haven't even started yet." Nathan said.

"I thought you said you were doing them when we were talking in the morning."

"No, I said I was doing the homework _you_ gave me. I never said anything about doing the ones for actual classes."

"Nathan, tutoring won't help if you don't do the homework for the actual classes." Haley said.

"I'm just making sure I'll get to see you during my seventh period for the rest of the year." He said and winked. Haley put her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly. Nathan wrapped his arms around her.

"Or you could do your homework and eventually we would have seventh period free." Haley said and kissed him. "To do..." she kissed him on the mouth "...whatever..." she kissed him on the neck "...we want." She said and looked at Nathan. She grinned when she saw Nathan looking at her with lust written all over his face. He kissed her fiercely and pushed her against the wall. Haley wrapped her legs around his waist and started to pull his shirt off. Haley thought about continuing their actions in her bedroom but the sound of a ringing phone snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Don't answer it." Nathan mumbled.

"I have to." Haley said and lowered her legs back to the ground. Nathan still wouldn't let her go.

"It's just someone trying to sell something." He said while kissing her neck. Haley thought about not answering the phone for a second. She definitely didn't want to leave Nathan's arms.

"No, it might be Lucas." She finally said. Nathan let her go. She kissed him before answering the phone.

"Hello?" she asked hopefully. "Hey mom." Haley said and sighed in disappointment. Nathan wrapped his arms around her in comfort. Haley smiled at him. "Everything's good... Yeah, I got the money you send... How's Vivian?... Good, good...What! You _talked_ to her! How is she! _Where_ is she?... Unbelievable... Well, tell Vivian I said hi... Love you too, mom... Bye, mom... Wait! When are you coming home? Hello?" Haley hung up and turned to look at Nathan who was looking at her.

"What was that about?" Nathan asked.

"Taylor called my mom." Haley said still not believing it to be true. "She's in New York." Haley said smiling.

"What's she doing there?" Nathan asked.

"I don't know. She only called to say she was in New York and that she was doing great and that she was sorry for all the trouble she's put everyone through. She hung up before mom had time to say anything." Haley said.

"Maybe she's changed." Nathan said and went to get his shirt that was still on the floor.

"Yeah, maybe." Haley mumbled forgetting every thought about Taylor. All her focus was on a shirtless Nathan. Nathan put his shirt on and turned to look at Haley.

"Like what you see?" he asked smirking.

"Uhhuh." She said and kissed him before opening the door. "But you've got homework."

"It can wait." He said and kissed her.

"No, it can't." She said while pushing Nathan outside. She followed him on the porch.

"You sure you don't want me to hang out here? Keep you company." he asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I've got homework and I'm planning on going to bed early." She said. "But you're still picking me up in the morning, right?" Haley asked.

"Of course. 7.45 ok for you?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, see ya then. Bye Nate." Haley said and kissed him once more before waving him goodbye.

"Bye, Hales. Try to get some sleep, babe." He said and left. Haley closed the door and went to do her homework. She tried to call Lucas on his cell and then on the house phone. Karen answered and said that she hadn't seen Lucas all day. Nathan called Haley one more time to say goodnight and after that, as Karen had instructed, Haley went to bed early.

She slept that night better than the previous one. She did wake up a few times but she always fell asleep right after.

In the morning she woke up to the sound of her alarm. She groaned and forced herself to get up and take a shower. After showering, putting on some clothes and eating, she was finally brushing her teeth when she heard the doorbell. She went to open the door while brushing her teeth. It was Nathan.

"Hey, jusssht a ssshhecond." She said and ran upstairs and finished brushing her teeth. She grabbed her stuff and ran back downstairs. She gave Nathan a big kiss.

"Morning." She said happily.

"Wow, you're in a good mood." Nathan said.

"I'm on a _better_ mood." Haley corrected. "But I'll be on a good mood once I talk to Lucas." Haley said confidently.

"You sure?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, Lucas can never stay mad at me for too long." Haley said trying to convince herself more than Nathan.

"Let's hope so." Nathan said and opened the front door. They chatted the way from Haley's house to the school. Nathan parked his car on the parking lot and they got out of the car.

"So, you're coming to watch the basketball try-outs, right?" Nathan asked.

"Today? I totally forgot." Haley said while walking towards the school.

"Yeah, after seventh. You coming?" he asked nonchalantly. He acted like it didn't matter if she would come or not but in reality, he wanted her to be there.

"Yeah, of course." She said. They were right in front of the front doors of the school. Haley stopped walking.

"Nathan, I really wanna make things right with Lucas." Haley said.

"Yeah, of course." Nathan said.

"So I think we should keep our distance." Haley said. Nathan just stared at her for a second.

"Haley, you're my girlfriend. I'm not gonna hide that." Nathan said.

"I don't wanna hide it either. I just think that it'll be easier to get Lucas to listen to me if we're not all over each other in front of him." Haley said wrapping her arms around his neck. "Just when he's around, we'll keep our tongues in our own mouths." She said and winked. They opened the doors and started to walk towards Haley's locker. Nathan wrapped his arm around Haley. Haley could see people staring at them and whispering. The surprised looks were on former Wests' faces. They were the ones who knew about Nathan's dating history. Or the lack thereof. Nathan didn't date. He screwed.

"Sure. But when we're alone, your tongue is mine." Nathan said.

"Yeah, we'll see." Haley said laughing. "You didn't date much, did you." Haley asked when she saw another group of people whispering and looking at them.

"No, why?" Nathan asked. Haley pointed at the group of people.

"No, I didn't date girls. I did them." Nathan said grinning.

"Oh, is that so?" Haley said.

"But it's all changed now and you know it." Nathan said and kissed her on the forehead.

"Yeah, I do." Haley said smiling. They got to her locker right when they heard the first bell ring.

"Shit, I still gotta get to my locker before first period. See you at Spanish?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, see you then." Haley said. Nathan kissed her before leaving.

"So, you two officially together now?" Haley turned around to see Jake open his locker. Their last names were close alphabetically so their lockers were next to each other.

"Yeah, we are." Haley said looking at Jake trying to see his reaction. He had worried all weekend about Lucas so she hadn't really thought about what Jake would feel about the whole thing.

"Is he good to you?" Jake asked taking an algebra book out.

"Yeah, he is." Haley said smiling.

"You happy with him?"

"Yep." She said still smiling.

"Then I'm happy." Jake said and turned to look at her. Haley grinned widely and hugged him as hard as she could.

"Whoa!" Jake said trying to get away from Haley's death grip.

"Jake, you have no idea how much that means to me." Haley said still hugging him.

"Lucas didn't take it well, huh." Jake said. Haley let go of him and looked at him sadly.

"Saying he hates me would be an understatement." Haley said and they started to walk towards algebra class that they both had.

"He doesn't hate you." Jake said.

"Have you talked to him?" Haley asked him.

"No."

"Then how do you know?"

"He doesn't hate you, Haley. Nobody can." Jake said.

"Thanks, Jake." Haley said. They walked into the classroom and sat down on their seats right when the bell rang. "Thanks again for being supportive of me and Nathan."

"Sure, of course. I trust you. If you say he's changed, then I believe he is." Jake said. Then before she had time to say anything, he added. "But if he hurts you in any way just say the word and I'll hurt him." Jake whispered to Haley once the teacher started speaking. Haley just smiled happily.

So, what do you think? I know it wasn't long and nothing really happened but please review anyways. Means the world to me!  
-Fes-


	11. Chapter 9

Hey guys. Thank you so much for all the great reviews! Keep them coming, they really do mean the world to me! Sorry for the delay of the update. I hate school, is all I can say. :) Anyways, hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think. Cheers. :)

Chapter 9

"I hate history. I swear to god Mr. Johnson hates me." Nathan said with a frustrated voice when he came into the tutoring center. It was still Monday. The Monday after the party where Lucas cut all ties to Haley. The Monday before the Weast dance. The Monday before the race.

"He doesn't hate you." Haley said opening her book.

"He's always giving me these mean, nasty looks. Like he's thinking of ways to ruin my life." Nathan said while taking his books out.

"That's not true. He hates everyone the equal amount." Haley said.

"Have you talked to Lucas?" Nathan asked.

"No, haven't seen him at all." Haley said.

"Maybe he's sick." Nathan said.

"His truck is in the parking lot. He's here." Haley said. "He's just avoiding me."

"Well, you're gonna see him soon." Nathan said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if he wants to join the basketball team, he's gonna have to show up for the try outs." Nathan said.

"You're right." Haley said.

"Of course I'm right."

"I'm gonna see him. I'm gonna make him talk to me." Haley said excited. She had that crazy gleam in her eyes that only meant trouble for everyone.

"Let's hope so." Nathan said quietly while watching her on the corner of his eye. He would never admit to everyone, but sometimes Haley scared him. And Nathan didn't scare easily. Living with Dan for years had taught him that.

"He's gonna listen to me. He has to. I'm gonna make him understand." Haley muttered while checking Nathan's worksheet for mistakes.

They didn't talk for the rest of the period. The only sounds in the room were the movement of papers, Haley's muttering about Lucas and Nathan's cursing when he miscalculated something.

After the bell rang they went to their lockers to get their stuff.

"You nervous?" Haley asked from Nathan. They were walking towards the gym.

"No." Nathan said. "I'm just anxious to see who else makes it." Nathan said.

"You're so sure that you're gonna make it." Haley said smiling.

"You don't think I'll make the cut?" Nathan asked a little bit hurt.

"Oh, don't get me wrong! I'm positive you'll make the cut. I just don't get it how you can be so confident." Haley explained.

"Probably because of my dad. All my life he's said I'm the best player in my school. I guess I've just started to believe him." Nathan said.

"I wish I had confidence." Haley said.

"Or maybe you just need someone to tell you you're the best." Nathan said and managed to wrap his arm around her even though he was carrying his books and basketball stuff. They opened the gym doors and walked in. A lot of people were already warming up and practising but no sign of Lucas yet.

"Maybe I do." She said smiling.

"You're the best." Nathan said and kissed her. "Gotta go change. Wanna hang out after I get done?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, of course. Good luck, Nate." She said. "Not that you need any." Nathan smirked at her before leaving. Haley went to sit on the bleachers next to the gym doors and started to do her homework while waiting for the try outs to start. Soon she realized she couldn't concentrate because of all of the noise and the fact that she couldn't stop looking at Nathan. What's a girl to do? The guy's hot.

She tore her gaze from him for one second to notice that Jake and Peyton had just come through the doors. She heard Peyton say good luck and then saw them kissing. Jake started to walk towards the locker room.

"Good luck, Jakie!" Haley said loudly. Jake turned to look at her.

"Don't call me that..." Jake warned.

"Never do. Good luck, buddy." Haley said.

"Hey, Hales." Peyton said and went to sit next to Haley.

"Whaddup, Peyt." Haley said.

"Nothing. You here to watch the try outs?"

"Yep, you?"

"The same."

Right that moment Lucas opened the gym door. "Excuse me." Haley mumbled while quickly getting up from her seat and starting to walk towards him. Lucas saw Haley and started to walk faster towards the locker room.

"Lucas, wait." Haley said. He didn't say anything. Just kept going. He was midway through opening the locker room door when Haley came next to him and shut it before he had time to walk in.

"Please, just listen to me." Haley pleaded. Lucas glared at her.

"Out of my way." He said angrily.

"No, not until you hear me out." Haley said.

"Not now." Lucas said trying to open the door but Haley wouldn't let him.

"You're gonna have to talk to me sooner or later." Haley said.

"We'll see about that." He said and yanked the door open. Haley almost fell on the floor by the force of it but quickly recovered.

"You can't avoid me forever!" she yelled after him. Lucas slammed the door shut. Haley sighed and looked at the closed door. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You ok?" Haley put her hand on top of Nathan's hand but didn't say anything.

"No, but I will be." She said and turned around to face Nathan. "He will listen to me eventually. I just gotta be persistent." she said hopefully.

"He'll come around." Nathan said. Right then they heard Whitey blow hard on his whistle.

"Anyone who wants to try out for the boys varsity and junior varsity teams: get here now!" he yelled.

"I'm gonna go sit on the bleachers." Haley said and kissed him. Haley headed back where Peyton was. She saw that Brooke was sitting there too. She went to sit next to Peyton who was sitting next to Brooke.

"Hey, Haley." Brooke said.

"Hi, Brooke. When did you get here?" Haley asked.

"Just a moment ago." She said while looking at the guys warming up.

"How did it go with Lucas?" Peyton asked from Haley. Brooke stiffened up at the mention of his name but didn't say anything.

"Not well. He won't even hear me out." Haley said miserably while looking at Lucas.

"Well, what did you expect!" Brooke snapped. Haley and Peyton turned to stare at her with confused looks.

"Excuse me?" Haley said after getting over the shock. Brooke realized she had made a mistake.

"I mean, you're dating his worst enemy. How would you feel if he dated someone you hated?" Brooke quickly said. Haley turned back to look at Lucas.

"I'd try to be supportive. He's my best friend." Haley said quietly. Brooke looked at Haley and then at Lucas. She couldn't help but think that maybe Lucas was overreacting. She shook the feeling off and concentrated on the looking at her secret boyfriend.

"So, how are things with Jake?" Haley asked changing the subject.

"It's good. But I still keep having the feeling like he's not telling me something." Peyton said.

"I'm sure it's nothing." Haley said quickly. "You dated Nathan, right? Got any embarrassing stories to tell?" Haley asked changing the subject.

"Well, there was this one time when he decided to steal a school bus..." Haley laughed at the start or the story and looked at Nathan and Lucas who were having a conversation with Whitey.

---------

"I don't care what kind of history you two have. In this gym you will put that aside and focus on the game. Is that clear?" Whitey asked from the two Scott boys who were glaring at each other. They both mumbled something Whitey couldn't hear. "Is that clear!" He asked a little bit loader.

"Yes, coach." They both said. Whitey left to get some papers from his office leaving the two boys alone.

Nathan looked at the bleachers looking for Haley. When he saw her he smiled and gave her a small nod. When Lucas saw that he narrowed his eyes in anger.

"So, how's life treating ya, little bro?" Lucas asked sarcastically. "Having fun screwing my best friend?" Nathan took a step forward and glared at him.

"Dude, don't start!" Nathan warned him. Sure, he wanted to kick Lucas' ass for making Haley miserable but he didn't want to do it in the gym in front of everyone, especially Haley.

"Or what! You'll ruin my other best friend's life! Sorry, but I think Jake's taken." He said getting angrier every second.

"I haven't ruined anyone's life. But _you,_ on the other hand, are doing a pretty good job in it." Nathan said angrily.

"What did you say!" Lucas yelled and pushed Nathan hard on the chest. Nathan pushed him back.

"You heard me!" He said angrily. Lucas pushed Nathan angrily once more and was about to hit Nathan when Whitey came back in the gym.

"What the hell is going on in here!" he yelled. Lucas still thought about hitting Nathan, god knows he would've deserved it in his opinion, but the other guys got between them.

"Nothing, coach." Nathan said. Whitey looked between the guys and then nodded.

"Good, now let's get this circus going." He said. "Line up! Suicides!" Whitey yelled and laughed when he heard the whole group of boys groan.

Haley, Brooke and Peyton watched the try outs in silence. They, along with the rest of the gym, saw the fight that almost erupted between Nathan and Lucas. There were a lot of really good guys trying out but none better than Nathan or Lucas. They scored every time they touched the ball. They were constantly fighting for the ball and pushing each other.

About 35 guys tried out for the team and 15 of them made the varsity. Nathan, Lucas, Jake and Tim were among those 15 players.

Haley, Brooke and Peyton waited for the guys to come out of the locker room. Jake came first.

"Congratulations! I'm so proud of you!" Peyton yelled happily and hugged him.

"Air." Jake said when Peyton's grip started to cause some trouble in his breathing. Peyton laughed and let go.

"So, what are we doing now Mr. Varsity player?" Peyton asked.

"I gotta go home for a while." Jake said to Peyton.

"What? I thought we were gonna hang out." Peyton said with a disappointed voice.

"We are! But just later. I gotta go home and shower and stuff. But we'll hang out later." Jake said. Truth was that he needed to go home to take care of Jenny for a while. Jake looked at Haley.

"Good job, buddy!" Haley said and went to hug him too. Jake hugged her back.

"Taking care of Jenny?" Haley whispered in his ear so the others couldn't hear.

"Yep." he whispered back. Haley let go of Jake.

"Don't I get a hug?" Came a voice behind Haley. She turned around and hugged Nathan as hard as she could.

"Oh my god, you were amazing!" Haley said grinning.

"Thanks for coming here." He said hugging her.

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world." She said and kissed him. "So, what are you gonna do today?" Haley asked.

"Hang out with you." He said grinning. He looked over Haley's shoulder and suddenly his grin turned into an angry scowl. Lucas had just come out of the locker room. He stared at Nathan who was still hugging Haley for a second and then started to walk fast towards the exit that just happened to be where Haley and Nathan were.

"Lucas is coming." Nathan said and let go of Haley. Haley turned around to see Lucas with an expressionless face coming their way. Haley took a deep breath. She had to make him listen to her.

"Lucas-" Haley started when he was closer to them.

"Don't even start." He just said and walked right past them.

"Luke, come on! Just hear me out." Haley said but he was gone already. "Goddammit!" Haley yelled. She stared at the closed door for few seconds.

"You ok, Hales?" Jake asked and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, just dandy." Haley said emotionlessly.

"Do you need anything?" Peyton asked concerned.

"No, I just need to get out of here." She said.

"Come on, let's go." Nathan said and wrapped his arm around her.

"Later Jake. Peyton." Haley said and waived them. She was gonna say goodbye to Brooke but couldn't find her.

"Where the hell did Brooke go?" Haley asked. They all looked around for a moment. "Doesn't matter. Later guys." Haley said.

"Bye, Hales." Jake said. Peyton waived her goodbye.

"Let's go, Nate." Haley said and they started to walk towards Nathan's car.

"Where do you wanna go?" Nathan asked.

"You should be the one deciding. You're the one who just got into varsity." Haley said.

"Like that's anything new." Nathan said grinning.

"Maybe not but we should celebrate nevertheless." Haley said.

"Fine, what do you wanna do?" Nathan asked. They got to his car. He opened the passenger side door for Haley and then walked around and got in.

"I told you. You should decide." Haley said.

"Fine. I decide that I'm taking you out for dinner." Nathan said. Haley turned to look at him with a big grin on her face.

"Really?"

"Yep, but first I need a shower." Nathan said.

"You didn't shower at school?" Haley asked quickly.

"Nope."

"Why?"

"Because Lucas did."

"So, you need a shower now?"

"Uhhuh."

"At your house?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go to my house."

"I don't have any extra clothes there."

"You can borrow my brothers'." Haley said. Nathan turned to look at her. He raised his eyebrows. "I don't wanna go to your house." Haley finally said.

"Why?" Nathan asked. Haley mumbled something. "What?" Nathan asked.

"Because I don't wanna run into Dan." Haley said and sighed.

"It'll be ok. He probably won't even be home." Nathan said.

"But what if he is? He won't accept me. I'm an East. My family doesn't own a Range Rover. We don't have a beach house. We don't live in mansions! We don't-" Nathan silenced her with a kiss.

"None of that matters to me, Haley. You do. It's gonna be fine. Don't worry." He said and started to drive towards his house. Haley stayed quiet during the ride. When they got to his driveway Nathan pressed the button to open the garage door. It was empty. He turned to look at Haley with a smile.

"See, he's not home." Nathan said and parked the car. They got out of the car and went inside. Haley couldn't help but stare at the house in awe. It was the biggest house she'd ever seen.

"Want a tour?" Nathan asked when he saw Haley's look. Haley just nodded. He showed her the basement first.

"I love pool." Haley said when she noticed the pool table. Nathan looked at her surprised.

"You do?" Usually girls didn't like pool.

"Yeah, Skills and Fergie taught me." Haley said.

"Who?" Nathan asked with a hint of jealousy in his voice. Haley smiled at that.

"Oh, the guys from River court. I've known them almost as long as I've known Lucas."

"Don't you have any friends that are girls?" Nathan asked laughing.

"Besides Peyton? No." Haley said smiling. She walked around the corner and suddenly froze.

"What is it?" Nathan asked when he saw the look on her face. He walked next to her and looked at the room. There was nothing in there except for the tv and the couches. "What is it?" He asked confused.

"You..." she just said and pointed at the wall where the tv and the stereos were.

"What?"

"You've gotta a 42-inch plasma tv." She whispered harshly. Nathan chuckled at that remembering Haley's words from his first party.

"Come on, let's go." He said and dragged her back upstairs. He showed her the kitchen and the living room before heading upstairs. On their way there Haley noticed a lot of framed pictures of a younger Nathan. He was either with his mom or dad but he was always holding a basketball in his hands. In the early pictures he was grinning but in the latest ones he just glared at the camera. There were also newspaper articles about him framed on the walls. Haley took one picture of Nathan in her hands.

"Please tell me the costume was for Halloween." Haley said while laughing at the young Nathan in a pirate outfit.

"Give me that." He said and took the frame from her. He hid it behind some other pictures. "Moving on!" he announced and took a hold of Haley's hand and started to pull her.

"So, this is your room." Haley said when she got in Nathan's room.

"Yep." He said and started to take his clothes off until he was only wearing his boxers. Haley tried really hard to keep her attention on the pictures and posters on his walls but couldn't help but take little peaks every now and then.

"I'll be right back. Don't snoop around too much." He said, winked and left the room. Haley grinned at him. Haley sat down on his bed and turned on the tv. She changed the channel to MTV. Loud rap music filled the room. Haley took a sports magazine from the floor and started to flip it through.

She heard her favorite song 'Diamonds from Sierra Leone' by Kanye West and turned the volume louder.

Had she not done that she might have heard the garage door open and someone slam a car door shut. She might have heard someone open the front door. She also might have heard someone's footsteps on the stairs and a deep male voice yelling Nathan's name. She also might have heard someone open the door to Nathan's room. She did however hear a male voice.

"Who the hell are you!" Haley turned around to find a very pissed off Dan Scott standing by the door. She quickly got up from the bed.

"I'm Haley." She said but realized that Kanye West's voice was blocking hers. She pressed the mute button from the remote.

"Hey, I'm Haley." She said again and offered to shake his hand. Dan stared at the hand coldly.

"What are you doing here, Haley...?" he asked her last name.

"James. Haley James, sir. I'm here with Nathan. He's taking a shower." She said and lowered her hand. Right that moment Nathan came back in the room wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. He looked between Dan and then Haley who was looking at the floor.

"Dad, I see you've met Haley." He said.

"Yeah, I was just about to ask her how you two know each other." Dan asked.

"Haley's my tutor." He said. Nathan went to stand behind Haley and put his arm around her. "And my girlfriend." He said. Dan looked at Nathan and Haley.

"I see." He said coldly. "Haley James your name?" he then asked. Haley looked at him with a surprised face.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Any relation to Brian and Chris James?" he asked with narrowed eyes. Haley smiled a little.

"They're my brothers." She said.

"Good players. I saw them playing against West on the first round of state tournament some years ago." Dan said remembering the game.

"Yeah, I saw that game too." Haley said smiling a little. She was so happy that the conversation with Dan was going well.

"Do you play basketball?" Dan asked.

"On my free time yes but not in a team." Haley said. Dan wasn't too pleased with that.

"Haley plays soccer." Nathan said.

"Uhhuh." He said with an uninterested voice. "How did the try outs go?" he asked from Nathan.

"Good." Nathan said.

"Only good? Good is not enough for the scouts." Dan said.

"I know, dad." Nathan said with an annoyed voice.

"I expect more from you, Nathan." Dan said before leaving. Nathan slammed the door shut angrily.

"You ok?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, he's just so..." He said looking for a word while taking clothes out of his closet.

"Demonic?" Haley suggested and jumped on the bed while turning the tv on again. Nathan chuckled at the suggestion.

"Hey, you ready to go?" he asked. Haley turned around to look at him and noticed that he was now wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Yeah. Let's go, handsome." She said and slapped him in the butt when he opened the door.

-------

"I'm so full." Haley said while holding her stomach. "That was so good." She said when Nathan paid the waiter.

"It's just mac & cheese." Nathan said smiling.

"Just? _Just!_ Oh, honey you're so wrong." Haley said smiling.

"You're crazy." Nathan said laughing.

"Shall we go?" Haley asked.

"Sure." He said and got up. "You want me to take you home?"

"No, unless you have to go home."

"Hell no. The less I see my dad the better." He said while opening the passenger side door for Haley.

"Wanna just drive around?" Haley asked.

"Sure." He said and sped off from the parking lot.

"Hey, do not touch the stereos." Nathan said when Haley started to go through the radio stations.

"Just drive." She said smiling. "Where are all your cd's?" Haley asked when there was nothing good on radio.

"In the glove compartment." He said. Haley opened it and chose a cd from there.

"You listen to Ludacris?" Nathan asked surprised when he heard the music start.

"Who doesn't?" she asked while going through the rest of the cd's. "Ooh, I love Kanye." She mumbled.

"Wanna go hang out at the beach?" he asked.

"Yeah, I haven't been there forever." She said. Nathan drove them there and they sat down on the warm sand.

"I gotta ask you something." Nathan said suddenly. Haley turned to look at him. She was sitting between his legs, leaning on his chest.

"What is it?"

"Will you go to the Weast with me?" he asked. Haley looked at him.

"Nathan, I really don't like formal dances."

"Me neither. But we still gotta go. It's compulsory for us."

"I'm just gonna call in sick or something."

"Or you could just go with me."

"I hate dancing." She said.

"Me too. Come on, Hales. We'll go there, spike the punch, make fun of the teachers... It'll be fun." He said.

"I don't know..." Haley said. Nathan saw that Haley was starting to cave in already.

"I don't wanna go without you." He said while kissing her neck softly. Haley moaned at the feel of Nathan's lips on her neck. Nathan kissed her some more while rubbing his hands on her stomach.

"Ok." She said weakly after few seconds. She turned around and they laid down on the beach Haley on top. They were making out pretty heavily when suddenly Haley heard some noises. She sat up.

"Did you hear that?" she asked and looked around.

"Hear what?" Nathan asked and looked around but all he could see was sand because of still lying on his back.

"I swear to god I heard someone." Haley said and looked down. She was sitting on top of Nathan, legs on both side of him. Haley blushed at the position and got up.

"It's creepy in here." She said and shivered. Nathan got up and wrapped his arm around her.

"Don't worry, I'm sure there's no one here. But we should leave anyways. It's getting late." He said and they started to walk towards his car.

"I can't believe I said yes to going to the stupid dance with you." Haley whined.

"I can be quite persuasive." Nathan grinned.

"That you can." She said.

"It's gonna be fun, don't worry." Nathan said while opening the door for her.

"I have to get a dress." Haley whined while getting in.

"You can ask Brooke or Peyton to help you." Nathan said.

"Peyton." Haley said. Nathan turned to engine on and started to drive towards Haley's house. After the car was out of sight, two persons behind a tree sighed in relief.

"That was close." Brooke said.

"Did you see them?" Lucas asked angrily.

"Yeah, they were kissing." Brooke said bored.

"More like making out."

"Well, they _are_ dating." Brooke said.

"But you saw them, right? He was practically forcing her to take her clothes off." Lucas said.

"Luke, she was on top." Brooke sighed.

"Whatever." He said.

"Remind me again why I put up with this." she said. Lucas took her in his arms and kissed her gently.

"I'll tell her after the race." He said.

"I still don't understand why we can't tell her now." Brooke said.

"She just has a lot of going on now." Lucas said thinking about the race. Sure, he was mad at Haley but he still wanted to win the race.

"What makes you think it'll be any different after Saturday. Let me remind you it's already Monday. The race is this Saturday."

"It'll be different, trust me." He said. Lucas was certain that after the race when Nathan found out that Haley was the racer, he would break up with her.

"I hate this sneaking around." Brooke whined. Lucas kissed her once more. "Although it's pretty sexy." She then said smiling.

"Good, because you're sexy too." Lucas said while kissing her neck.

"What do you say we finish what the Tutor-couple started?" Brooke said. Lucas responded by taking her in his arms and carrying her towards the beach.

So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Would you change something?

-Fes-


	12. Chapter 10

Hey, I'm back with an update! Thank you all for all the awesome reviews! You guys rock! Anyways, hope you enjoy chapter 10. As always, please review. :)

Part 10

It was Thursday night. Since Monday the week had gone by quickly. Haley had spent all her time at school, studying, working on the car and hanging out with Nathan. They had all decided that the race would be 6 pm sharp on Saturday night. She had tried to talk to Lucas but he just wouldn't listen to her. She hadn't had time to think about the Weast even though Nathan reminded her all the time. She hoped that if she didn't have time to buy a dress, she wouldn't have to go. She hated formal dances and she had a feeling that if she went to this one, something bad would happen. And she hated drama. Too bad there seemed to be so much of that in her life and unfortunately even more to come.

Haley looked at the kitchen clock and saw that it was 8 pm already. She hadn't even started to work on her homework yet. Right after school she had went first to Karen's and then to Keith's. Haley sighed and started to boil water in the pan. She took the box of Mac & Cheese from the cabinet and set it on the counter. She poured herself a glass of iced tea.

She sat down on the coach and turned the TV on while waiting for the water to start boiling. Someone rang the doorbell. Haley turned to look at the door. No one never rang the doorbell. She got up and walked to the front door still holding the glass of ice tea. Haley opened the door and stared at the person in front of her. She dropped the glass and her face went pale.

"Hey, little sister."

"Taylor?" Haley asked. Taylor grinned at Haley and then opened her arms and hugged Haley as hard as she could. Haley stood there motionless.

"How are you, Haley-bub!" Taylor asked using the nickname that only the family used. Taylor grabbed her suitcases and pulled them inside the house. Haley just stared at her without saying anything. She couldn't believe that her former best friend, her sister, was standing in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" Haley asked with a quiet, shaking voice.

"Came to see my favorite sister." Taylor said grinning.

"I haven't seen you since last Christmas and even then you were so wasted you couldn't even talk to me. The last time we had a proper conversation was when I wasn't even in high school yet. So I ask again, what are you doing in here!" Haley asked getting more and more upset. Taylor sighed and looked at Haley with a guilty look. She knew that Haley wouldn't be too happy to see her but she still hoped that Haley could put the past behind her.

"I came here for you, that's the truth." Taylor said and closed the front door. Haley's eyes flashed.

"Do not lie to me! Not anymore! What do want! Money? Is that what this is about!" Haley screamed.

"No! I don't need any money. I came here for you." Taylor said again.

"No! Do _not_ lie! You don't care about me! You don't care about anyone!" Haley yelled.

"That's not true." Taylor said. "I came here to look after you."

"You're still so full of shit!" Haley said tears in her eyes. "You can't take care of me! How could you when you can't even look after yourself!" Haley said.

"Listen to me, baby." Taylor said. "I'm changed now. I'm not the same person I was before." She said and touched Haley on her shoulder. Haley flinched.

"Do not touch me. I don't know why you came back and I don't care. I'm gonna go to the bathroom now and when I come down, you better be gone." She said codly and ran upstairs. She went to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. She started to pace around in anger. She definitely didn't expect to see Taylor. She was glad to see that Taylor was ok but there was just too much history between them to just let her forget everything she'd done. Haley hit the wall in anger and cursed when she felt the pain. Suddenly her pocket started to vibrate.

"What!" Haley answered the phone angrily.

"Hey, it's me." Nathan said quietly.

"I can't talk right now." Haley said upset.

"Are you ok?" Nathan asked concerned.

"No!" Haley yelled at the phone.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked. He parked the car so he could concentrate on the phone call.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing!" Haley yelled.

"I'm coming over. Are you home?"

"Don't come! I can't see anyone right now." Haley said.

"Then tell me what's wrong." Nathan said. He heard Haley sigh.

"Taylor came back."

"Oh god. How are you?" Nathan asked. He knew how difficult it must be for Haley to see her sister again after all this time.

"Not good. But I'll be fine." Haley said quietly. She heard Taylor knocking on the bathroom door and asking for Haley to open it. "I gotta go." Haley said.

"Where are you now?" Nathan asked.

"In my bathroom. Nate, I don't know what to do. My parents are gone, she's back and Lucas won't talk to me. Everything is falling apart." She said quietly.

"Don't say that. You'll always have me. Just remember that. Do you want me to pick you up in the morning?" Nathan asked.

"No, I'll drive myself. But I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Call me before you got to bed, ok?"

"Sure. Bye." Haley said and hung up. Nathan stared at the phone. He was about to turn the engine on and drive home when he saw a familiar truck parked on the side of a basketball court.

He hadn't realized he was in front of River court. He looked at the court and saw Lucas playing ball by himself. His back was turned on Nathan so Lucas didn't see him. Nathan thought about driving away and forgetting that he saw him like he always did but he couldn't help but remember Haley's sad and desperate voice telling him how her life was falling apart. Nathan blamed Lucas for the most part of it. Nathan sighed angrily and got out of the car. He walked towards the court his hands in his pockets. Lucas turned around when he heard footsteps.

"Walk away before I kick your ass." Lucas said angrily.

"You need to talk to her." Nathan said ignoring his threat.

"I'm warning you. Leave!" Lucas said.

"She needs you." Nathan said ignoring him again.

"I so do not care." Lucas lied. He did care about Haley but he just couldn't forgive her.

"Yes, you do. She's your best friend!" Nathan said raising his voice a little bit.

"Yeah? If she were my best friend, she wouldn't date you." Lucas said angrily.

"Dude, I'm _not_ the problem." Nathan said.

"What!" Lucas yelled angrily and dropped the ball on the ground. "Are you serious or even more of an idiot I thought you were?"

"Believe it or not, I'm not the problem. You are." Nathan said. Lucas looked like he was about to hit him.

Nathan continued with a loud voice. "She's miserable because of you! Not me. So yeah, I'd say you're the problem." Nathan finished with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. Nathan was getting fed up with Lucas' attitude.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Lucas said and picked up the ball. He knew that Nathan was right, he just couldn't admit it to himself let alone to Nathan.

"She needs you. You know her better than anyone." Nathan said. Lucas just glared at him and scored a free shoot. Nathan looked at him annoyed.

"Stop being so selfish!" Nathan said and picked up the ball.

"Selfish! _I_ am selfish!" Lucas asked angrily.

"Dude, you're not the only problem in her life!" Nathan yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked angrily. Nathan sighed and ran his hand through his own hair.

"Her sister came back." Nathan said after few seconds.

"Quinn?" Lucas asked. Nathan shook his head. "Vivian?" Lucas asked. Nathan sighed and shook his head again. Lucas stared at Nathan for a second and then his face turned into a shock.

"Taylor! Taylor came back?" Lucas asked forgetting about their fight. "Oh my god. How is Haley?"

"What do you think? Her parents are out of town, her best friend is not talking to her and her sister just came back." Nathan said with some bitter in his voice. He was sick of Lucas acting childish and making Haley miserable. "She needs you." Nathan said and left.

Lucas stared at the basketball in his hands. It had been horrible for him to not talk to his best friend. He missed Haley more than he realized. But he didn't trust Nathan and he was certain that if Haley didn't break up with him, she would end up with a broken heart. Lucas hoped that Haley would finally choose Lucas over Nathan and save her heart in the process. He knew that his way wasn't the best but desperate times calls for desperate measures. Lucas didn't know how long he stood at the court but when he snapped out of his thoughts it was to clear to him that he needed to talk to Haley. Since avoiding her didn't make her break up with Nathan maybe he could convince her by talking to her.

---------

Haley finally opened the bathroom door after about 20 minutes of hiding. Taylor stood outside the bathroom her head hanging low. When she heard the door close she looked up and looked at Haley.

"Baby, we need to talk." Taylor said and led her downstairs. Taylor had cooked the Mac & Cheese that Haley had forgotten. She had set the table for two. Haley sat down and started to eat without saying a word.

"I wasn't lying when I said I came here for you." Taylor started. Haley was about to say something but Taylor didn't let her. "I talked to mom a few days ago and she told me that you were here all by yourself so I decided to come and keep you company." Taylor said.

"Look, Hales. I know I have been pretty much a bitch for the past god-knows-how-many years. But I am changed. I'm living in New York, working for a law firm. I just got my own apartment and for the first time in my life, there are no men or booze involved." Taylor said. Haley looked at Taylor shocked. No alcohol?

"Taylor, I'm really happy for you. But you can't just come here and expect everything to be ok." Haley said.

"I know. The biggest mistake I've ever made -and this is a lot coming from me considering that the past 4 years has been nothing but a series of mistakes- was the way I destroyed our friendship. Haley, you're the most important person in my life and I would do anything for you. Words can't describe how sorry I am for everything that I've done to this family and especially to you." Taylor said.

"Why are you here, Taylor? You can't change the past." Haley said a little bit sadly.

"But I can do something about the future. I came here because of you. I heard you were staying alone so I came here to look after you."

"I can take care of myself." Haley said.

"I know. But I know how lonely you get. I'm here to take care of you and keep you company until mom and dad come back. But above all, I'm here to build our friendship back."

"What about your new job?" Haley asked.

"I have my lap top and cell phone with me. They said I can do all the work from here." Taylor said.

"I don't know what to say." Haley said after a while.

"Just say you give me a chance." Taylor said and took Haley's hand in her own.

"Ok." Haley said smiling. Taylor squealed in happiness and went to hug Haley. She then dragged Haley to the coaches.

"Ok, now tell me everything." Taylor said. "I suppose there are still no dirty gossip about you?" Taylor asked smiling.

"Well, do you know Nathan Scott?" Haley asked.

"Lucas' half-brother? The enemy numero uno? What about him?" Taylor asked.

"I'm dating him." Haley said. Taylor's mouth opened in shock.

"Way to go, girl!" she just yelled and high-fived her.

They spend the whole night talking and gossiping about each other's lives like they used to when they were younger. Haley remembered her promise and called Nathan to let him know everything was ok. After gossiping some more and eating a lot of ice cream, Taylor and Haley fell asleep on the coach.

And that's where Lucas found them the next morning.

Haley opened her eyes and blinked. She was staring at the couch. She looked up and realized she was in the living room. _What the fu-_ Then it all hit her. Taylor coming back, them fighting, then making up. Everything. She stared at the ceiling for few minutes and then decided to sit up.

Haley held her head in her hands and rubbed her temples. Then she heard a cough. She looked up and saw a person sitting on the chair in the corner. She tried to scream but only a whisper came from her throat. Haley jumped up and was about to run when she saw that it was Lucas.

"Lucas!" she said and sighed in relief. Haley stood there watching him. She knew how Lucas acted when he was upset. Even if it was Lucas who was angry at Haley, he always went to her first. And that hadn't changed. Taylor woke up before Haley had time to say anything else.

"Jesus Christ, my neck is killing me." She yawned and got up.

"Hi, Luke. Bye Luke." Taylor said like it was no big deal that he was sitting in their living room at 6 am. She headed upstairs to sleep in her own room.

"How long have you been here?" Haley asked from Lucas when Taylor left. She sat down back on the couch.

"A while." He said emotionlessly. "I've told you a million times to lock your front door."

"But how would you get in then?" Haley asked. To anyone else it might seem like playful banter but there was no hint of humor in either of their voices. They stared at each other for few minutes.

"Wanna try to explain?" Lucas finally asked.

"I don't know what to say." Haley said and sighed.

"Well, why don't you try?" Lucas said with a hint of nastiness in his voice.

"First of all: we didn't have sex! The reason I was wearing his clothes was because he threw me in the water and I was soaking wet and freezing." Haley said. "Just wanted to make that clear."

"So, no sex?" Lucas asked. When Haley shook her head in denial she could visibly see Lucas relax a bit.

"I don't want to sound predictable here, Luke, but Nathan really has changed." She said and saw that Lucas sighed in disappointment. "He has! And he really is a nice guy once you get to know him." Haley said.

"Haley, why can't you see that he's just using you?" Lucas asked.

"He's not. He really cares about me." Haley said.

"You can't know that for sure." Lucas said.

"Yes, I can. I know him." Haley said.

"Haley, you know I love you, right?"

"Yeah and I love you too." Haley said.

"And all I want is what's best for you."

"I know that but you should trust me on this. I know him. And he would never hurt me."

"I just don't want you to get your heart broken. Which you will if you stay with him!" Lucas said.

"I know we may not stay together forever but it's ok. We're having fun. We're just dating."

"Just dating? _Just_ dating!" Lucas asked. "Haley, don't you see? You're one of _them_ now!"

"Who?"

"Them. The Wests."

"No, I'm not. I haven't changed, Luke." Haley said.

"Yes, you have! And you're so deep in it, you can't even see it!" Luke yelled.

Then he continued with a normal voice. "One week ago you hated the Wests. You were more than ready to kick their spoiled little asses back to their mansions. You wanted to win the race and shove it to their faces. Now, you haven't even mentioned the race in days and you're dating one of them!" Lucas finished. He knew he was being the biggest hypocrite but if it helped Haley to get over Nathan, it was worth it.

"Luke, I still wanna win the race. More than you know. Last week I wanted to win because I wanted them to know that East ruled and they sucked. Now I just want this whole East vs. West battle officially to stop. And I believe it will stop once we're done with the race. It doesn't matter who wins, what matters is that it's the last competition between East and West ever. After that there is no East and West. Just Tree Hill." Haley finished.

"So, you will still race?" Lucas asked.

"Of course. I wanna win, Lucas. Just as much as you do. I just wanna win it for different reasons." Haley finished.

"I don't know what to do here, Haley." Lucas said and rubbed his head.

"Let's just go back to normal. Hang out, play ball, watch movies, fix our race car... The only difference is that now I have a boyfriend." Haley said.

"Haley, I can try and go back to normal. I can do all those things with you." Lucas said. Haley smiled widely. "But I can't do them if he's there." Lucas said. Haley's smile faded. Before she could speak, Lucas continued.

"But I'm not gonna make you choose between us because honestly I'm too afraid you'd choose him over me. You're my best friend, Haley. And like I said before, I'm not gonna let Nathan ruin our friendship. So yes, we're still best friends." He said and paused. "I just won't have anything to do with him." Lucas said.

Haley knew there was no point in arguing him. He had made up his mind and there was no changing it. Yet. She would try and change his mind after the race, she decided.

"Besides, we made a pact." Lucas finally said.

"What are you talking about?" Haley asked confused.

"Don't you remember? After Nathan and his buddies broke my bike we made a pact that we would always hate them. We would never befriend them and most importantly-"

"-we would never date them." Haley finished for Lucas. "God, that was like sixth grade!" Haley said.

"Fifth. But you promised." Lucas said. He knew he sounded stupid and immature but if it could help him make some sense into Haley, he was willing to be like that.

"First of all, like you said it was fifth grade. We were 11. I still had bangs and braces and you still wore jean overalls." Haley said making a point that they were stupid kids then. They both chuckled.

"But still, a pact is a pact." Lucas said stubbornly.

"Yeah, but you broke it first."

"What?"

"Does summer after our seventh grade ring any bells?" Haley asked smiling.

"What are you talking about?"

"The summer camp we went to."

"On Lake Samuel?" Lucas asked trying to remember.

"Yeah, you made out with that Bevin girl. And we both knew she was a West." Haley said.

"What?" Lucas asked sounding confused. But the redness on his cheeks told Haley that he remembered.

"Oh, don't lie. I saw you guys by the swings." Haley said.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Lucas asked.

"I didn't want to embarrass you and it wasn't any of my business. And I was also waiting for you to tell me." Haley said. "But you never did." She said. Lucas felt a bang of guilt. And he felt it even worse when he thought about him not telling Haley about Brooke. But now wasn't the time.

"Ok, so the pact thing was stupid." Lucas said and Haley laughed. "The point is that I just don't want you to get hurt." Lucas said.

"I won't." Haley said. "Trust me, Lucas."

"I do." He said and sighed. "I just don't trust him."

"I can't change your mind about him, can I." Haley asked.

"No." Lucas said.

"Fine. But the main thing is that we are ok. That we can still hang out and be best friends." Haley said.

"That's right."

"And that's all that I want." Haley said and went to hug Lucas. Lucas hugged her back. Taylor who hadn't gone upstairs, smiled to herself in happiness. She peaked around the corner and saw Haley and Lucas hugging. She tiptoed quietly upstairs to her room still smiling.

"What time is it?" Haley asked. Lucas looked at his watch.

"After six." Lucas said. "I should go home and try to get some sleep."

"Ok, see you in a couple of hours then?" Haley asked.

"Yeah sure." Lucas said. "I hope I'll still get some sleep. Can't be tired at the Weast."

"You going?" Haley asked. Lucas nodded. "With whom?"

"Brooke." Lucas said quickly. Haley looked at him surprised.

"Brooke? Is there something going on between you two?" Haley asked with narrowed eyes.

"What? Me and Brooke? No. She just asked me and I said yes." Lucas said quickly. Haley could see that there was something he was hiding but she didn't get a chance to ask anything because Lucas' cell phone rang at that moment. Lucas sighed in relief while answering.

"Hello?... Mom, calm down. I'm ok... I'm with Haley... Ok, I will... I'll be right there... Love you, too." Lucas closed the phone.

"Mom says hi."

"Why's she calling you at 6 am?" Haley asked.

"Because I haven't been home at all tonight." Lucas said while grabbing his coat and heading to the front door.

"What? How long have you been here?" Haley asked.

"About 2 hours." Lucas said like it was no big deal.

"Psycho stalker." Haley said smiling. He opened the door and went outside. Haley followed him to the porch. She was careful not to step on the shattered glass that was still on the porch floor.

"Gotta go." He said laughing.

"I'm going to Keith's after school to test drive the race car. You coming, right?"

"Yeah, of course. Can't wait to drive that beauty. See you later." Lucas said smiling.

"Bye, Luke." Haley yelled. She watched Lucas walk towards his truck. Then she ran after him and jumped on his back.

"Whoa!" Lucas said laughing. Haley hugged him as hard as she could.

"Did I mention how happy I am to have you as a friend?" Haley said and jumped down from his back.

"Yeah." Lucas said and hugged her back.

"This is so awesome. We're friends, Taylor's back and I can't wait to beat Tim's ass." Haley said.

"How can you be sure he's the driver?" Lucas asked.

"Nathan told me." Haley said. Lucas looked at her with a surprised look. Then Haley looked down sadly. "He thinks you're our racer." Haley said. Lucas just nodded.

"I really gotta go now. But I'll talk to you at school. And I wanna know everything about this whole Taylor situation." Lucas said and hugged her again before going inside his truck.

"I'm so glad we can be honest about everything." Haley said while leaning on the truck. Lucas swallowed hardly and smiled a little. He felt a bang of guilt of lying to Haley again but it was for her own good. At least that's what he said to himself.

"Yeah, just great." He mumbled while turning on the ignition. Lucas waived and drove off towards his house. Haley stayed and watched until she couldn't see Lucas' truck anymore. She sighed happily.

"Today's gonna be awesome." She said happily to herself.

If she had only known better.

So, what do you think?

-Fes-


	13. Chapter 11

Hey guys! Sorry for the wait in updating. All I can say is that I hate my school. Anyways, thank you all SO much for all the nice reviews! Kepp them coming, people! This is a rather long chapter so I hope it compensates the wait. :) I tried to write this chapter funny so there are a lot of attempted jokes and all. Let me know if they're funny at all. I can handle criticism!

Chapter 11

"Today's gonna be awesome." Haley said happily to herself.

If she had only known better.

She started to walk happily back towards the house. She looked inside the crooked mailbox and took the newspaper out. She opened the front page and continued walking back to her house. Right when she got to her porch she forgot that the shattered glass was still there and she stepped right on them.

"Auch!" she yelled and quickly opened the front door and stepped outside. "Son of a bitch!" she yelled in pain after few more steps. She turned on the light and sat down on the floor. She looked at the bottom of her feet and saw that they were bleeding. There were two big pieces of glass still stuck on them. She bit her lip and pulled them out.

"Goddammit!" she yelled when she tried to get up but her feet were hurting too much. She managed to walk to the kitchen where she sat down.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" Taylor asked with a tired voice from doorway. She had woken up to Haley's cursing.

"Look! I stepped on glass!" she said and showed her the cuts.

"Nasty cuts." She said while looking closer at Haley's feet.

"They feel nasty too." Haley said.

"Just sit there. I'll get something to clean that up." Taylor said and left. She came back with some liquid that made sure the bacteria died and some small bandages. She cleaned it and bandaged it.

"There. How do they feel?" Taylor asked when she was done. Haley took few steps. They still hurt but at least she could walk.

"They feel much better. Thanks, Tay." She said smiling. Taylor grinned at the nickname. She hadn't heard Haley call her that in way too many years.

"No problem, Haley-bub." She said and winked.

"Do _not_ call me that." Haley said smiling.

"Whatever. Do you still like scrambled eggs?" Taylor suddenly asked.

"Yeah. But I feel like eating pancakes." Haley said.

"Really? I'm in the mood for some cereal." Taylor said. They looked at each other and both grinned at the same time.

"Let's make 'em all!" they said at the same time and started laughing. The morning went well. They gossiped about boys and the upcoming Weast dance and they did eat scrambled eggs, pancakes and cereal. Everything went so well that they totally lost the track of time. Suddenly Haley noticed that it was 7.50 and she hadn't even showered yet.

"Shit!" Haley yelled and ran upstairs. She took the quickest shower in the history of the James family, quickly gathered her books, and changed her clothes while running downstairs.

"Later, Tay." She yelled and ran to her car. She turned the engine on and put it on gear. She was supposed to reverse but accidentally drove forward. She heard the front lights hit the garage wall hard.

"Fuck!" she yelled but didn't get out of the car. She put it on reverse and pressed gas. She heard the familiar sound of her side mirror smashing against the garage door.

"Goddammit!" she screamed but kept on reversing. No time to get up. She finally turned the car towards the school. She pressed the gas hard and heard the sound of her tires leaving marks on the asphalt. She drove as fast she could. She ran at least 3 red lights and two STOP-signs when she heard the sound of a siren. Haley checked her back mirror and saw the flashing lights of the police car behind her.

"Motherfucking sonofabitch!" she screamed but pulled over the side of the road. Haley got her license and registration ready for the cop and even opened the window. She looked at the back mirror and saw that the cop took his time getting out of the car, slamming the door shut and adjusting his belt before starting to slowly walk towards Haley's car.

"Could you _be_ anymore slow?" Haley mumbled in annoyance. It was almost like the cop had heard her because right that moment he turned around and walked back to his car. He checked his hair from his side mirror before starting to walk towards Haley's car. By that time Haley's hand was already out of the window with the needed documents.

"G'morning, lady. What's the rush?" he asked smiling. Haley just forced a smile and handed the papers to the cop. He didn't seem to notice them.

"Can I ask why a young, pretty lady as you was speeding like that?" he asked flirting. Haley felt disgusted. The guy had to be at least 50 years old and weigh about 250 pounds. He also had one of those Donald Trump –type hair. You know, the type where you tried to cover your balding head by combing your hair to the front. Disgusting.

"School." Haley managed to say while swallowing the hurl that was starting to rise on her throat.

"You in college?" He asked and winked.

"High school." Haley said and waived the papers a little bit so the cop would see them.

"High school..." he said and smiled. Haley swallowed the hurl back again. "I've always liked them young." He said and winked. Haley tried to smile but just couldn't so she grimaced.

"So, you got a license and a reg-" he didn't have to finish because Haley stuffed the papers in his hands. The cop smirked at her.

"Aren't you quick... I like quickies..." he said and grinned widely. Haley could see that he was missing two teeth. She swallowed again.

"Speaking of quick. I gotta be that to make it to school on time." Haley said. The cop smiled and checked her papers.

"It all looks good." He said. Haley turned to look at him and noticed that his eyes weren't on her license and registration anymore. They were firmly looking at her boobs.

"Good, that means that I can go?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, but why would you want to, pretty girl?" He said and was about to touch her on her hair when Haley had enough. She took a firm grip of his hand before it came anywhere near her wet hair and glared at him.

"Listen to me, you asshole. I'm having a shitty morning and probably even a shittier day. I'm already late, my feet are killing me and I forgot to make lunch. So why don't you just write the fucking ticket and get your greasy, fat ass out of my way." She said between her teeth. The cop immediately took his hand off.

"You know, I was gonna let you off with a warning but now I changed my mind." He said and wrote the ticket to Haley.

"Whatever, loser." Haley said and sighed in anger. The cop looked at her in anger.

"And that's another ticket for insulting authorities." He said and handed another ticket to her.

"Are we done, _officer_?" Haley asked the last word in a sarcastic voice.

"Yes, we are but I would suggest-" he didn't have time to finish his sentence because Haley had already snatched her documents from his hand and sped off leaving him alone on the side of the road.

"Damn teenagers..." he muttered while walking back towards his car. He noticed the small plastic box that he had purchased earlier on his passenger seat. He opened it and grinned widely again.

"Mmmmm, donuts..."

--------

Haley drove as fast as she could (which was pretty damn fast) and parked her car on the invalid spot (or whatever you call them) because she didn't have time to find a parking spot on the already crowded parking lot. Besides, invalid spots were bigger so she had less of a chance on screwing up the parking.

She ran inside the school to her locker as fast as she could. She cursed loudly when the locker didn't open at the first try. She tried again. Still no luck. She tried the third time. Still no luck.

"Son of a _bitch_!" she screamed and hit it with her fist. The door flew open. Haley stared at the open locker then quickly grabbed her algebra book and ran towards the class. She pushed the door open so hard it slammed against the wall. The whole class turned to look at her, including Jake who was also in the class. The teacher glared at Haley angrily.

"How nice of you to join us, miss James. Care to explain why you're 15 minutes late?" the teacher asked. Haley looked at him annoyed.

"I got pulled over." She said and sighed annoyed.

"Oh is that so? Well, I'm afraid I can't let you join us anymore. You know my policy of being late without a proper explanation." He said.

"Oh, come on Mr. Green. I'm always on time." Haley said frustrated.

"Not today, Miss James. Please, leave the room." He said and pointed at the door.

"This is so fucking unfair!" she said loudly.

"Do not raise your voice at me, young lady. And watch the language. Now, I ask again: please leave this room or I'll be forced to call the principal."

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." Haley muttered but everyone heard it.

"And that'll be 2 hours of detention."

"What!" Haley asked angry.

"Today." He said and grinned.

"This is so retarded" Haley yelled. She had tons of homework, she had to test drive the car and not to even mention buy a dress, get ready and actually go to the dance that started at eight.

"Make that 4 hours." He said. Haley glared at him and stormed off the room. She slammed the door shut. She went back to her locker. It opened at the first try. She put her book there and headed towards the gym. She had P.E.

"At least I'm not late..." she muttered and hoped for her day to get better. And Haley was right about the being late part. Their P.E teacher decided that they would play volleyball that day.

He divided the whole group into teams of four and of course Haley didn't get to be on the same team with Jake, Peyton or even Tim. Instead she was on the same team with Nick, the captain of the math club who was busy calculating their average hits per minute which shouldn't have been that hard because it was a zero. Then there was the badass black girl, Tally, who lived in the trailer park with her older sister and her boyfriend. Or was it Tally's boyfriend and her sister? Or her boyfriend's sister? Who knows, but when Haley asked if she wanted to serve, she told Haley to "Fuck off, you bitch." The last and definitely the least one was Tina, the 95-pound anorectic senior who would've broken her bones had she tried to catch a ball. So instead she went on a 6-mile run and even managed to come back before the end of the period.

So, needless to say, Haley's P.E. class was pure hell. After that she took a quick shower and then noticed that her towel was missing. After about 3 packs of Kleenex's Haley found herself late again. She ran to her history class and made it just in time. The only free chair was next to Tim's so she sat down there.

"What's up, Hales." Tim asked. "Had a fun P.E class?" he said laughing. Haley snatched the pencil from his hand and threw it at him.

"Morning, ladies and gentlemen. Since it's Friday and everyone's excited about Weast dance tonight, I'm gonna spread the joy. Pop quiz!" Haley went pale. She hadn't had time to do any homework for her history class because of talking with Taylor whole night. She got the quiz in front of her and stared at the multiple choice sheet in depression.

Tim looked at her in confusion. Usually Haley was the first one done with the quiz and now she hadn't even picked up her pencil.

After the history class Haley made her way over to library. It was her free period before lunch. She headed to the back of the library and sat down. She put her backpack on the table and took her books out. She was determined to study for the rest of the classes. After about 10 minutes of studying three freshmen who were former Wests, two girls and a guy, came to sit behind her. Haley's back was towards them so they didn't see her. And Haley didn't see them either. But she definitely heard them.

"Oh my god, sis! Did you see what Emilie 'Skank' Christensen was wearing today?" the other girl asked in a high voice. Haley sighed. She hated dumb blondes.

"Yellow belt _and_ pink shoes. Jesus, what a wreck." The girl said and then continued. "And what about that whore from East. What's her name... You know, the one with the mono."

"Courtney Spears?" the other girl asked.

"Yeah, that's the one! Who would even kiss her is beyond my understanding."

"Among many other things." Haley muttered to herself and tried to concentrate on her homework. You can only guess if she was able to do that.

"Stacyyyy..." the other girl whined.

"What is it, Daisy?" _Stacy and Daisy... God, their parents must have hated them._ Haley thought.

"I'm hungry." Daisy whined.

"We just ate last night. Remember, if we wanna be cheerleaders we both have to lose 5 pounds. Now, drink some more water." Stacy said. Haley rolled her eyes. There was about 15 seconds of silence which Haley thanked the higher powers for.

"Stacyyyy..." Haley was starting to get really annoyed with Daisy's voice.

"What?"

"Stop making out with Jason."

"He's my boyfriend, loser."

"Well, you're making me feel incomfortable." _**In**comfortable? You frigging kidding me!_ Haley thought.

"Too bad. I hate that English teacher we have. Jason, can you believe the retard had the nerve to give us both detention?"

"Didn't you both call her and that Maria girl a 'bitch' and a 'skanky ho' in front of the whole class?" Jason asked.

"Yeah. So? That's beside the point. Oh, by the way. Did you see that new girl?"

"Delinda Dermott?" Daisy asked.

"Wait, is she the one from Pennsylvania? The junior?" Jason asked.

"Uhhuh." Both of the girls said.

"She's a definite double D." Jason said grinning. Haley heard a smack.

"Ouch, my arm. Why did you hit me?" Jason whined.

"I don't want you checking other girls out, idiot."

"I was talking about her initial letters." He said.

"Oh."

"And her boobs."

whack

"Ouch!"

"Haha!"

"Stop hitting me!"

"Stop giving me reasons to hit you!" Haley's hands were in a fist. She was sick and tired or listening to the trio.

"Did you see Peyton Sawyer today?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah, she's dating that guy from East, Jake something." Stacy said. Haley bid her lip from screaming. Jake and Peyton were her friends.

"She's got a great ass." Jason said.

whack

"Ouch! Quit being a bitch!" Jason said loudly. Half of the library 'shhhh-ed' but the two girls gasped.

"Did you just call me a bitch?"

"Did you just call my sister a bitch?"

"I think he called me a bitch. What do you think, Daisy?" Stacy said in an angry tone.

"Yes, I believe so too, Stacy."

"I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean to."

"Yeah, right. Come on, Daisy. We're leaving." Haley grinned widely. _Finally._

"Oh, come one, babe. Don't go. You know you're the hottest girl in the school."

"Really?"

"Uhhuh and you know it." Jason said. Haley huffed in annoyance when she heard that the girls weren't going anywhere. There were few wonderful seconds of silence.

"Eeeww..." Again Daisy whining. "Guys, stop making out. That's gross."

Haley closed her eyes and gripped the pencil so hard her knuckles were white.

"Come on, Stacy. You know I hate it when you two make out. It's just so gross with your hands all over each other. And besides, you promised you would gossip with me. And we haven't done that in a while and I think you're really- Eew, I just saw a tongue! Quit it, you guys!"

"Fine, fine, fine." Stacy said. Haley could hear Jason muttering something about urges.

"Did you see Scott's new girl?" Daisy asked. That got Haley's attention.

"That brunette? Was it Hallie or something." Stacy said.

"I think it's Haley." Jason said. Haley smiled a little. _Maybe he's not totally retarded._ "Her boobs rock." _Or maybe he is._

whack

"What did I say about checking out other girls?"

"Babe, chill. You know your boobs are the best." Haley didn't like the direction the conversation was heading.

"Anyways, I heard she's also dating Lucas Scott. Nathan's brother." Daisy said.

"Step-brother." Stacy corrected. _Half-brother, you retards._

"But I thought they were just friends." Stacy continued.

"Could _you_ be just friends with Lucas Scott? Come on, sis. He's fine..." Daisy said.

"I think Nathan's cuter." Stacy said. Haley let out an angry sigh. She was still gripping the pencil. She could almost feel smoke coming out of her ears.

"He's way too good for her. I mean, the girl's an East. And also his tutor."

"I bet he'll dump her sorry ass as soon he's done with the semester."

"I don't know, girls. I talked to Greg who knows Jack who's in the same English class with Tim Smith who we all know is Nathan's best friend and Tim said that Haley's different from the rest of his girls." Jason said.

"Yeah, different by not having sex with him." Stacy said. By now Haley was shaking with anger.

"How do you know they haven't had sex yet?"

"Please, would they still be together if they had?" Stacy said. That was the final straw. Everything after that seemed to happen in a blur.

snap

The pencil in Haley's hand snapped in half. She let a loud, long scream (AN: if you've seen the movie 'Lola rennt' 'Run Lola Run' in English you'll know what I mean  ).

The whole library turned to look at her. Stacy, Daisy and Jason looked at her with a mixture of being scared and thinking she's crazy. Haley got up, gathered her books as fast as she could and left the library. Some people could've sworn they heard her mumble something about the 'intensity of studying'.

Haley splashed some water on her face. She was in the girls' bathroom staring at herself in the mirror. Her face was pale and her lips were trembling. Haley slapped herself lightly in the cheek.

"Come on, girl. Get it together." She mumbled. She heard the bell rang. Haley thanked god that it was finally lunch. Nothing could go wrong at lunch. Then she remembered that she didn't have any lunch with her. She sighed and left the bathroom. She went to her locker to get her wallet and then headed towards the cafeteria. She waited in the line for over 10 minutes and then finally got to the table where her friends were sitting. And Nathan. _Sweet, young Nathan._

"Hey, haven't seen you all day!" he said and kissed her. Haley sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around him. She gave him a deep, passionate kiss. Tim was starting to cough uncomfortably next to them.

"What was that for?" Nathan asked surprised.

"I'm having a horrible day." Haley said and rested her head on his shoulder. Nathan hugged her. Haley saw a couple of freshmen standing by their table. They were looking at Haley and whispering about something. They had obviously heard about her little outburst in the library. Haley gave them the finger and a death glare. The freshmen looked at her scared and ran away. Nathan looked at her confused.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing." Haley said and took a big sip from her water bottle.

"Did you hear that some chick went crazy in the library?" Tim asked laughing. Haley choked on her water. Nathan tapped her on the back.

"You ok?" he asked concerned. "You seem stressed."

"Like I said, I'm just having a bad day."

"Lucas still not talking to you?" Peyton asked. Haley turned to look at the group in front of her. Peyton and Jake were sitting next to each other and Tim was sitting next to Nathan.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You don't know yet." Haley said while taking a bite from the bagel she bought.

"Know about what?"

"Lucas and I made up." Haley said grinning happily.

"Really? That's awesome!" Nathan said.

"High-five, chica!" Tim yelled and held his hand up in the air. Haley and the rest of the table looked at Tim with a funny face.

"Tim, just say- Ah, never mind. High-five!" Haley said happily and high-fived Tim.

"What happened?" Nathan asked.

"Well, after talking the whole night with my sister, we fell asle-" Haley got cut off by Jake.

"Wait! Your sister's back? Which one?" Jake asked confused.

"Guess." Haley said smiling.

"Vivian?" Jake asked. Haley shook her head and smiled.

"Quinn?" Haley shook her head again and this time she was grinning. Jake stared at her for a second. Then he dropped the sandwich he was holding.

"Taylor's back?" Jake asked shocked. "_Taylor_?"

"Uhhuh." Haley said and took a bite from Jake's sandwich. Jake just stared at her.

"Taylor?" he asked again. Haley started to laugh at the look on his face.

"Who's Taylor?" Peyton asked.

"She's Haley's sister." Tim answered like it was a big mystery. Peyton just smacked him in the head. Haley explained what had happened with Taylor and Lucas.

"So, in the past 12 hours Taylor, of all the people, has come back and you and Lucas are friends again?" Jake summed it up.

"Yep." Haley said.

"And you're complaining that you have a bad day?" Peyton asked laughing. Haley's face turned into a scowl.

"I saw you at algebra today. You were late and got detention." Jake said.

"Yeah, but that was nothing compared to the rest of the stuff that I've been through today." Haley said.

"Like what?" Peyton asked.

"Ok, so last night and early this morning was awesome but everything since that has been nothing but hell. Except for this lunch which is probably the highlight of my day if the rest of the day is anything like the beginning." Haley said.

"What happened?" Nathan asked. Haley was about to start talking when the bell rang.

"To make it short, I've gotten two tickets from a cop today, got kicked out of class, got 4 hours of detention, sucked at P.E.,-" at that remark Tim, Peyton and Jake started to laugh. Haley glared at them but continued "-failed a pop quiz and made a whole room of people think I'm crazy." Haley finished and got up. The others were still sitting.

"What?" Tim then asked.

"Ah, no time. I'll explain everything later. See ya later guys." Haley said and headed towards her locker. Jake ran after her.

"Sorry about your day." Jake said.

"Thanks. Have you seen Lucas?" Haley asked.

"Not since second period. He said something about skipping the rest of the day." Jake said while walking towards their lockers.

"Well, he better meet me later." Haley said.

"What for?" Nathan asked from behind her.

"Rac-, umh, just school stuff." Haley quickly corrected. Jake looked at Haley quickly. Haley stared at him back.

"Ok." Nathan said.

"I can't believe I have four hours of detention today. This totally sucks." Haley said while opening her locker. Jake was opening his at the same time.

"Well, you kinda had it coming." Jake mumbled. Haley gasped loudly and turned to look at him with a shocked expression. Nathan looked at them while trying to hold his laugh.

"What did you say!" Haley asked.

"Well, you _did_ say 'fuck' twice." Jake said and closed his locker.

"Whatever." Haley said. She turned to look at her locker one more time.

"Shit, I can't find my Spanish book." Haley said. "I must've left it accidentally home."

"We barely even use the book. It probably won't matter." Nathan said. Haley nodded and looked at the clock on the wall. "We gotta go." Haley said to Nathan. The she turned to look Jake again. "See you later." Haley said and started to walk towards her and Nathan's Spanish class.

"Yeah, bye. Enjoy your detention!" Jake said laughing. Haley showed him the finger without turning around.

"Today sucks!" Haley said while walking towards Spanish class with Nathan. Nathan wrapped his free arm around Haley's shoulders.

"But tonight's the Weast and that's gonna be fun." Nathan said.

"I hate dances. I hate dancing." Haley muttered.

"Who said we were going to dance?" Nathan asked while winking at Haley. Haley laughed at him.

"But I still don't even have a dress." Haley said.

"We'll get you one today." Nathan said.

"I've got detention, remember." Haley said.

"Well, then you're just going to have to come naked." Nathan said smirking.

"You'd allow the whole school to see me naked? Geez, could you be more romantic?" Haley asked laughing.

"Oh, we'd never make it to school." Nathan said and winked.

"You dirty lil'-" Haley got cut off by the bell.

"Good morning class." The teacher said.

"Let's hope we don't need books today." Haley whispered in Nathan's ear.

"Take your books out. We're gonna do some reading today." The teacher said. Haley just groaned out loud while Nathan patted her on the back smiling apologetically.

The rest of the classes didn't go any better. Apparently she had forgotten books from the rest of the classes too. She got into a fight with her chemistry teacher and almost got kicked out of economics class. She was also getting sick of freshmen staring at her and whispering about her. Apparently her library incident had become quite a legend.

Haley ran to her locker, late again, and opened it with such speed she barely had time to blink. She took a few books out and started her way towards the tutoring center. She made inside the class right when the bell rang. Nathan was sitting by the table looking impatient.

"I'm sorry I'm late, baby." She said and sat down on his lap to give him a long kiss.

"It's ok." He muttered and continued to make out.

"We're not gonna study today, just so you know." Haley said grinning between kisses. Nathan smirked and pulled her closer while wrapping his arms around her waist. Haley started to play with the hair on his neck while Nathan lifted the hem of her shirt a little bit so he could draw small circles on the small of her back. Just when things were starting to get interesting, they heard a cough from the corner of the room.

Haley jumped up in surprise and noticed that it was Mrs. White, the English teacher in her late twenties who had the sense of humor of an 80-year-old.

"That is an inappropriate way to behave on school grounds." She said with her nose high in the air.

"I'll show you inappropriate." Nathan muttered while opening his backpack. Haley disguised her laugh as a cough.

"I'll be spending this seventh period here with you so don't even try any of that." She said and glared at them both. Haley and Nathan sighed and sat down. The tutoring was as platonic as possible even though every now and then they snuck a few quick kisses when she had her back turned on them. It was the slowest period of the whole day and all Haley wanted to do was go home, crawl under her blankets and sleep.

Nathan swore silently his bad luck. All he wanted to do was forget about everything and focus on Haley's mouth. Her tongue. Her lips, hands, hair, breasts- Nathan snapped out of his fantasies when Mrs. White announced that they had one minute left so they could start packing their things.

"So, you got detention now?" Nathan asked.

"Yep, like I said: today sucks..." Haley mumbled while packing her stuff.

"Well, it will get better, I promise. I'll pick you up at eight. You get off from detention at six, right?" Nathan asked while walking Haley to her locker.

"Yeah, I got a run a few errands after that. Like find a frigging dress!" Haley said.

"If it's that much trouble, we don't have to go." Nathan said. Haley turned to look at him. She felt instantly guilty. She knew how much Nathan wanted to go to this dance and all she did was whine and complain.

"No, no. We'll go. I'll find a dress." Haley said while opening her locker. Nathan looked at her.

"You sure? Because we can totally skip it and have our own lil' party." Nathan said and winked. Haley grinned while pulling all of her books out of her locker.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Besides, how bad can it be?" Haley asked. She got a sudden feeling to knock the wood.

"Ok, I'll pick you up at eight then." He said and kissed before heading towards the parking lot. Haley looked after him and back to her locker. She then remembered that she had promised to Lucas that they'd test drive the new car after school. She quickly took her cell phone out of her pocket and looked around to make sure there were no teachers around. It was forbidden to use a cell phone inside school premises. When she didn't see any teachers she called Lucas.

"Hello?" Lucas answered the phone sounding a little bit out of breath.

"Hey, it's me." Haley said. When he didn't say anything she continued. "Haley."

"Haley! Hi! What's up!" Lucas asked quickly.

"Nothing... Are you ok? You sound weird."

"Weird? No, I'm totally ok. Totally fine. Totally normal." Lucas said. Haley laughed at the phone.

"Ok, whatever you say. Listen, I can't make it to Keith's after school." Haley said.

"Ok." Lucas said. Haley looked at the phone with a weird look on her face.

"I've got detention." She said.

"Ok." He said like it was no big deal.

"You sure you ok?" Haley asked when Lucas didn't even ask why she got detention.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lucas said.

"Do you wanna meet me at Keith's tomorrow morning so we can test it then? The race is not till the evening."

"Yeah, sounds cool." Lucas said.

"Ok, gotta go now." Haley said.

"Bye." Lucas said and hung up. Haley looked at the phone with a weird look on her face. Something was definitely going on with Lucas. She didn't know how long she stood there but apparently it was too long because suddenly Mrs. White snatched the phone from her hands.

"Hey!" Haley yelled in annoyance.

"Cell phones are forbidden." She simply said with a smug look on her face.

"But I wasn't even using it!" Haley lied. She hoped Mrs. White hadn't seen her using it.

"Which is why you will get it back already on Monday." She said.

"That's not fair!" Haley said angrily.

"You broke the rules, miss James. It has consequences." She said and left with Haley's cell phone.

Haley looked at Mrs. White's back with a shocked face. She didn't think of herself as materialistic but come on, how was she, or anyone who was living in the 21st century, supposed to survive a weekend without their cell phone. As soon as Mrs. White had disappeared into the teacher's room, Haley's face turned from shock into anger.

"Goddammit!" she screamed and slammed her locker door shut as hard as she could. The whole corridor turned to look at her.

"What!" she yelled at them angrily and gave them the death glare. Within seconds the whole corridor turned back to their own lockers and groups of friends.

Haley huffed in annoyance, grabbed her backpack and started to walk towards room 1001, the room where her detention was. She noticed that people got out of her way when she walked. She smiled in satisfaction. Haley opened the door to room 1001 and wanted to slash her wrists the minute she stepped in.

Daisy and Stacy were sitting there giving each other manicures. They turned to look at Haley with scared faces. At that moment Haley was ready to sprint and not care about the consequences but right that moment Mr. Kim, the unfortunate teacher who had been assigned to supervise the misbehaved students on a Friday, came inside the class room.

"Good, you're all here." He said. "Some of you will be here till 4 pm and the rest till 6. I'm gonna be in my office which is opposite from this room so don't even try to leave early. I suggest you use this time wisely and do your homework." He said glaring at the blonde twins who were in the middle of applying second layer of blood red nail polish on their nails.

"If you have no questions, I'll let you back to your homework." He said and left the room. Haley looked around the class trying to decide where to sit. She didn't know anyone. Most of the students there were caught smoking weed. Haley could smell it the minute she opened the door. Then there was Tally, the badass girl from her P.E. class who lived with her boyfriend's sister or sister's boyfriend or who the hell knew. Or cared. Then there were the blonde twins.

Haley sighed thinking about her options. She hated the smell of weed because it gave her the worst headache so sitting by the pod squad was out of the options. She had to choose between badass Tally or the motormouth twins. So, in worst case scenario she would either get stabbed or she would slash her own wrists. She chose the latter and sat down behind the twins. The twins looked at each other with panicked looks. But then they turned back to more important things, like their nails.

Haley took her books out and started to do her homework. And by the end of her 4-hour detention she had been able to do most of them even though the twins were trying their best to annoy her with their gossip about nails, hair, makeup, the cutest guys in the school, the break up of yet another Hollywood couple and what a hottie that one guy, Danny, from Real World Austin was and how the twins would be so much better for him than that Melinda girl. Haley could only thank for her iPod and slap herself for not thinking about using that at the library.

Haley ran to her car, cursed loudly and broke her other side mirror, again, when she noticed the parking ticket on the windshield. She got in her car and drove home. She slowed down to the speed limit when she noticed the familiar fat cop standing by some girls' car while obviously flirting to the disgusted girls. Haley laughed and showed him the finger while driving by. She got to her house few minutes later and ran upstairs to take a shower.

She got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around herself and went to sit on her bed.

"Hey, Hales. Where you been?" Taylor said when coming in her room. She sat down on the bed next to her.

"Detention." She said.

"Wow, aren't you quite the badass these days." Taylor said laughing. Haley sighed quietly.

"Taylor, I need your help." She then said. Taylor turned to look at her with a shocked look on her face. Never had Haley been the one to ask for help.

"Whatever you need." She said.

"I need to be pretty." Haley said and sighed.

"But you are. Did someone tell you you're not? Was it Nathan? Cause if it was I'm gonna-"

"Nobody said nothing." Haley said and then sighed. "We have a dance tonight. I'm going with Nathan." Taylor squealed in happiness and clapped her hands together loudly.

"What time is he picking you up?" Taylor asked.

"At eight." Haley said. Taylor looked at the clock on Haley's wall and jumped up from the bed.

"Eight! It's 6.30 already! Get up, sister!" Taylor said pulled her up. "We have work to do."

Taylor dragged Haley to her old room and opened her closet. She had kept all her old homecoming and prom dresses there. She laid down 3 options.

"This pink one here is both innocent and sweet. It's halter neck and shows no cleavage whatsoever." Taylor started while holding the pink dress in the air.

"Then why do you have it?"

"It was freshman year, alright?"

"Whatever."

"Anyway, this pink dress says 'Hi, I'm Haley! I'm a tutor and I have a 4.0 GPA.'" Taylor said in a high voice.

"You do realize that I _am_ a tutor and I _do_ have a 4.0 GPA?"

"Whatever. Wear this dress and be known as the innocent, sweet Haley for the rest of your life. Now, this white one here is sexy and not too much slutty but definitely skanky."

"Now, that's your style."

"Shut up. If you want guys to drool over you and think of you when they're doing nice to themselves, wear this."

"Eew."

"Actually, I think I'm gonna wear it myself."

"By all means."

"Ooh, I can still fit into this."

"Yeah, whatever."

"And I still look hot in it. I knew I haven't gained any weight. Hah, Vivian was wrong!"

"Taylor, let's focus here."

"Oh, yeah. And the last but definitely not the least, or the cheapest by the way, is this black dress here. This beauty here shows a little bit of cleavage but not too much. Actually, not enough for my taste. See, I think that a perfect dress should flatter all your body parts and our best body parts are definitely our boo-"

"Taylor."

"Anyways, this dress doesn't show so much cleavage. See the sexiness is the back part. Like you see, it's a very low cut. But not too low, so you don't have to worry about ass cleavage."

"It's very pretty."

"I know it is. And you would look so good in it."

"I don't know, it looks like it could fall off any second."

"That's what I was worried about back then but even I didn't manage to fall out of it even though at the end of the night I kinda even tried."

"What did you do, put a lock on it?"

"Very funny. And no, I didn't have a lock on it. The dress is just perfect. It fits perfectly. And you will look perfect in it."

"You think I should wear this?" Haley asked.

"Oh, honey. You already _know_ you're gonna wear this." Taylor said and handed the beautiful dress to Haley. Haley just stood there holding the silky dress on her hands.

"Let's go. I still gotta do your hair, make up and nails." Taylor said and dragged her to the large bathroom.

"And find me shoes." Haley piped.

"You don't have dress shoes?" Haley shook her head. "Jesus, could you _be_ more of a tomboy?"

"I wear sports bras more often than normal bras."

"Apparently you can." She said. "You hungry?" she suddenly asked.

"Starving."

"I'm gonna order some pizza." She said and ordered them quickly a big cheese pizza.

"Now make me pretty." Haley said when Taylor hung up the phone.

"Yes, ma'am." Taylor saluted and started to do Haley's nails. About 20 minutes later she moved over to work on her hair. Sometime between hair and nails, the pizza arrived. By 7.40 pm they were finishing Haley's make-up and 10 minutes later they were going through Taylor's closet again, this time looking for shoes. Few minutes before eight Taylor was helping Haley with the dress.

"I'm stuck."

"That's where your arm is supposed to go."

"Is this backwards?"

"No, but it's inside out. Lemme take it off."

"Watch the hair."

"Lift you arms."

"Watch the hair, watch the hair."

"Now, move your neck."

"Watch the hair, Taylor..."

"Now lift your chin."

"Watch the goddamn hair!"

"Your hair is fine!"

"Good. Hair matters."

"Ok, I got the dress off."

"It's way too complicated."

"No, it's not. As long as you, or Nathan for that matter, are not planning on taking it off tonight."

"Shut up."

"Put your hands up so I can slip this dress on you."

"You're still wearing that white slutty dress. Looks good on you, by the way."

"Why, thank you. Now turn around so I can zip you up."

"There's a zipper?"

"Yep, a small one."

"Really?"

"Uhhuh."

"Where?"

"Kinda on the side, now turn around."

"Thanks for helping me, Tay."

"No problem, baby sis." Taylor said smiling and zipped her dress. They both turned to look at the mirror in front of them.

"Look at us." Taylor said. "All sexy and pretty."

"Too bad we can't wear these normally." Haley said.

"Someone has to get married soon."

"I bet Quinn's the first one." Haley said.

"She still dating that stock market guy?"

"Brandon? Yep. Three years and engaged." Haley said.

"Wow. But I think the first one to get married is Matt and what's his girlfriend."

"Sheila. But they've been only going out for like 6 months."

"Just think about Matt. The longest relationship he's had is 3 weeks. This has to be serious."

"Whatever, I'm sticking with Quinn." Haley said.

"You wanna make it interesting?" Taylor asked grinning.

"How much?" Haley asked also grinning.

"30 bucks."

"Make it 50." Haley said. "And another 50 if they set up a date before the end of this year."

"You got it." Taylor said and shook Haley's hand. Right that moment the doorbell rang.

"Doesn't he know we keep the door always unlocked?" Taylor said.

"I'm not ready yet!" Haley said with a panicked voice.

"Yes, you are."

"Shoes. Shoes! Where are my shoes!" Haley was looking all over the room. Taylor took a hold of her shoulders and shook her.

"They're in your hands. Calm down. Now put them on while I go and open the door and meet your boyfriend. Just breathe deep and look yourself in the mirror before coming down. You look hot, sister." Taylor said and smiled. She closed the door, walked downstairs and opened the front door. Nathan stared at Taylor and her white dress.

"You're not Haley." Nathan said with a confused voice.

"Ten points for Nathan." She said and extended her hand. "I'm Taylor, Haley's-"

"Sister, I know." Nathan said.

"Come on in, Nathan." Taylor said and let him in.

"So, you're Taylor. Haley has told me so much-" Nathan started but got cut off by Taylor.

"Listen to me, Scott." Taylor started in a calm, angry voice. Kind of like the one Haley had when she talked to Lucas and Nathan after finding them wrestling on Nathan's basketball court.

"Haley is my baby sister, my best friend and the most important person in my life. I would do anything for her. Anything. So if you were to hurt her I would, for example, hunt you down, chop off your balls and then to _really _torture you. So, I'm warning you, don't mess with her heart." Taylor said.

"I won't." He said. Right that moment they heard a door open and close upstairs. They turned to look at the top of the stairs. Haley took a deep breath and a shaky step down. She tried to keep her eyes glued on her feet to make sure she didn't trip but once she saw Nathan looking all handsome in his tux, she couldn't help but stare at him.

Nathan knew it sounded corny when he thought that he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. But it didn't make it a lie.

"You look very beautiful." Nathan managed to say after Haley gave him a small kiss.

"You're not looking too bad either." Haley said smiling. All nervous feelings had vanished once she had seen Nathan.

"How did you have time?" Nathan asked.

"Taylor did it all. This is actually her old dress."

"Well, it looks very good on you." Nathan said.

"And it better stay _on_ her the whole night." Taylor said and smiled sweetly. When Haley looked away for a second Taylor's face turned into a glare. She looked directly at Nathan and mouthed 'I'm warning you'. Nathan just gulped and turned to look at Haley again.

"Well, handsome. Shall we go?" Haley asked and linked arms with him.

"Sure, you got everything you need?" Nathan asked.

"Yep, let's go." She said holding a small purse on her other hand.

"This way, gorgeous." He said and opened the door for her.

"Bye Taylor, see you later. And thanks for everything." Haley said and waived before leaving.

"Have fun, babe." She said and watched them leave. She then quickly ran into the kitchen and came back with her small digital camera.

"Wait!" she yelled just before they got to Nathan's car. "One picture." She said and came to the front yard.

"God, no pictures." Haley said.

"Oh, come on. One quick picture. Smile!" she said and took a picture. Taylor stared at the camera screen and smiled. "It's perfect." She said. "Now everyone owes me 25 bucks." Taylor said grinning.

"What?" Haley asked confused.

"The whole family made a bet 2 years ago that the person who gets a picture with you wearing a dress gets 25 bucks from everyone else." Taylor said grinning. Haley opened her mouth in anger.

"I want 50!"

"25!"

"35 and I won't tell them about you driving over the neighbor's pet hamster!"

"It was an accident!"

"But you were drunk."

"I had two margaritas!"

"And a bottle of Scotch. So, 35."

"Deal."

"Deal. See you later, Taylor."

"Bye, Hales." Taylor said and went back to the house grinning happily while holding the precious camera firmly in her hands.

"Ok, let's go, baby." Nathan said and opened the passenger side door for her.

"Tonight is gonna be so awesome!" Haley said happily.

If she had only known better.

So, how was it (I know I sound like a guy after having sex with a girl but I really need to know):) Let me know what you think about it!

-Fes-


	14. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Haley and Nathan parked his car on the already packed parking lot. Like the name of the dance, the theme was East and West coming together and becoming one. There were Weast –signs all over the walls and here and there some compasses that had the East and West highlighted. All in all, it was one of those very tacky, homecoming-ish decorations everyone's seen.

Haley and Nathan entered the gym with Nathan's arm proudly around her shoulders. Half of the gym turned to look at them. Obviously they were the hot couple of the month that every American high school had. Nathan led Haley smoothly to the dance floor.

"What are you doing?" Haley hissed when Nathan stopped walking and circled her waist with his hands.

"We're dancing." He said grinning.

"Oooh, hell _no_. I do not dance." Haley said stubbornly.

"Come on. For me." Nathan said and gave her the puppy dog look.

"No, no, no, no, no..." she said but quieted down and put her hands around his neck. "One dance."

"Fair enough." He said and pulled her closer. He could feel Haley's skin under his fingers. He started drawing small circles on the small of her back.

"Now, this isn't so bad, is it?" Nathan asked smiling. Haley sighed deeply and looked around. She saw all those happy people dancing and laughing. She couldn't help but feel like one of them too.

"No, it's not." She said and smiled at him. She tiptoed as best as she could on her heels and kissed him lightly on the mouth before resting her head on his chest.

"Nothing can ruin this night." Haley said and sighed happily. She had the sudden urge to knock the wood again but she shook it off.

Maybe she shouldn't have.

After few more dances Haley and Nathan decided to get something to drink and see who else was there.

They finally found the punch that had a small line in front of it. They waited until it was their turn. Nathan poured them both some of the liquid and they both took a sip at the same time. And they both spit it back to the glass at the same time.

"Jesus Christ, what _is_ this?" Haley asked while throwing the plastic cup in the garbage can that was already filled with the same cups.

"It's like a mixture of watery juice, warm Mountain Dew and..." Nathan said searching for a word.

"Sweat." Haley finished. Nathan nodded in agreement. "Who else is here?" Haley asked looking around the gym. Nathan did the same.

"Oh, there's Peyton and Jake." Nathan said pointing his finger towards one of the tables.

"Let's go there." She said and grabbed his hand. They walked through the dance floor to get to the table where Peyton and Jake were making out heavily.

"God, get a room." Haley said laughing while sitting down next to Jake. Jake and Peyton separated.

"Haley, hi." Jake said a little bit unenthusiastically.

"Mad cause I broke your suck fest?" Haley asked grinning.

"Well, since you ask-" Jake started but got cut off by Peyton.

"No, he's not. And neither am I. It's always nice to talk to friends, right?" Peyton said smiling.

"Right." Jake said. Then he turned to take a better look at Haley. "You're wearing a dress." He said.

"Yeah, Mr. State-the-Obvious." Haley said laughing.

"And no sports bra."

"Nope."

"But you always wear a sports bra." Jake said confused. "You sure you don't have one on now?" Jake asked confused.

"No!" Haley said and turned her back on Jake so he could see that she wasn't wearing a sports bra. Or a bra at all.

"That's weird." Jake said.

"You're weird." Haley said.

"Yeah." Peyton and Nathan said at the same time while staring at Jake.

"He's not used to seeing me wear a dress." Haley said.

"You're actually wearing a dress." Jake said again.

"Well, it _is_ a formal dance." Haley said.

"I've never seen you wear a dress before."

"I know. I just said it." Haley said and sighed.

"Yo, dude! How's it hanging?" Skills asked coming behind Haley.

"Hey, man. What are you doing here?" Jake asked while doing a manly handshake thingy with Skills.

"Crashing the party with Fergie. We are the party crashers." He said grinning.

"Where's Fergie now?" Haley asked from Skills.

"He went to get- Haley?" Skills stopped in mid sentence when he noticed it was Haley standing in front of her.

"Yeah...?" Haley asked.

"Girl, you wearing a dress?" Skills asked while Jake started laughing. Haley glared at him for a second.

"Yes, I am wearing a dress." She said a little bit frustrated.

"You never wear a dress." Skills said.

"Today I do."

"No sports bra?"

"So, where's Fergie?" Haley asked changing the subject.

"Went to spike the punch." He said.

"Thank god." Nathan and Haley both mumbled.

"Oh, there he is!" Skills said when he saw Fergie.

"Do not try the punch!" Fergie said grinning madly.

"Too late." Haley said. Fergie turned to look at Haley.

"Haley?"

"Yes, I'm Haley. Yes, I'm wearing a dress. And no, I'm not wearing a sports bra." Haley said irritated.

"I was just gonna ask that." Fergie said laughing.

"Come on, guys. Get over it." Haley said smiling.

"You lookin' fine tonight." Skills said when he took a better look at her.

"I agree, give daddy some sugar!" Fergie said and opened his arms for Haley to give him a hug. Haley giggled while getting up and giving Fergie a big hug. Nathan glared at the two boys. As soon as Haley let go of Fergie, Nathan wrapped his arm around her shoulders while glaring at the boys. Fergie and Skills laughed at the look on Nathan's face.

"Down boy, we not here to steal her." Fergie said grinning.

"Yeah, Haley's like our lil' sister." Skills said matching Fergie's grin.

"Yeah?" Nathan asked relaxing a little bit.

"Yep, so that makes us kinda like her big brothers." Fergie said still smiling.

"And like any good big brothers would say..." Skills said. Suddenly both of their grins turned into to glares which were directed to Nathan.

"You hurt her, we hurt you." They said and then started grinning again.

"No worries." Nathan said still holding Haley.

"Good, but we gotta leave now." Skills said.

"Yeah, I think the principle saw us spiking the punch. Later, guys. And Peyton." Fergie said deliberately leaving out Haley's name. Haley just rolled her eyes and sat down next to Jake again.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Peyton said and left. Nathan saw Tim motioning for him to go over him.

"Hales, I'm gonna go talk to Tim. Be right back."

"Ok." She said and watched him leave.

"Things going well with you and Nathan?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, couldn't be better." Haley said smiling while thinking about Taylor and Lucas. "I'm so happy, Jake. Taylor's back and she's really changed, Lucas and I are friends again and I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend." Haley said smiling.

"I'm really happy for you, Haley." Jake said. The band started to play a loud rock song.

"Have you seen Lucas?" Haley asked.

"What?" he asked over the music.

"You seen Lucas!" Haley asked louder.

"No, why."

"No reason, need to go over few things with him. Tomorrow's the race, you know."

"Yeah, at six pm right!"

"Yeah. Hey, how are things with you and Peyton?" Haley asked.

"What!" Jake asked. He couldn't hear her because of the music.

"You and Peyton ok!" Haley asked louder.

"Yeah, I guess!" Jake said hesitating.

"You haven't told her about Jenny yet?" Haley asked.

"No!" Jake said embarrassed.

"You have to! She's your daughter!" Haley said.

"What!" Jake asked loudly again. He really couldn't hear anything besides the band. But right that moment the band stopped playing.

"She's your daughter!" Haley yelled. When she realized the music had stopped playing it was already too late.

"I guess it _doesn't_ just happen in the movies..." Haley muttered. She then turned to look at the rest of the gym who were all staring at Haley and Jake. Haley turned to look at Jake with a horrified face but his eyes were directed to Peyton who stood about 10 feet from them frozen. Jake quickly got up and walked to her.

"Peyt?" Jake asked quietly and touched her shoulder. That seemed to snap her out of his shock.

"You have a _daughter_!" she yelled. The whole gym was watching them. This seemed to be the best kind of drama for them. Even the teachers just sat there doing nothing but stare at them.

"Peyton, please calm down. Let's get out of here and talk-"

"You have a kid and you didn't tell me about it! I'm your _girlfriend_!" Peyton yelled ignoring Jake's request.

"I'm so sorry, I just didn't know how to tell you-"

"How about 'Hey Peyton, I have a daughter, by the way.' Who's the mother! Is it her!" Peyton yelled pointing at Haley who was standing next to Jake.

"No!" They both yelled at the same time.

"You don't know her." Jake said.

"How could you not tell me you have a daughter?" Peyton asked but before he had time to answer, Peyton turned to look at Haley with a death glare.

"And you! You lied to my face! I asked you _twice_ if there was something going on and you lied straight to my face!" Peyton yelled at Haley. She knew she shouldn't blame Haley but she felt like it was her fault the truth came out like this.

"Peyton, I'm sorry but it wasn't my secret to tell." Haley said apologizing. Nathan came to stand behind her.

"You _lied_ to me! You're almost worse than Jake! I asked straight from you and you still lied!" Peyton was furious.

"Peyton, please. Let's just get out and talk." Jake pleaded.

"You! I have nothing to say to you! Nothing! Stay away from me!" Peyton yelled and ran off. Jake stood next to Haley motionless.

"Jake, I am _so_ sorry." Haley said feeling awful. "I didn't know- I had no idea- I'm so sorry." Haley said. She didn't know what to say.

"You couldn't keep your mouth shut!" Jake asked from her angrily.

"Jake, it was an accident. I didn't mean to." Haley said feeling even worse.

"Well, you still did!" Jake said angrily. "I gotta find Peyton."

"Jake-"

"Haley, don't talk to me! Not now!" he yelled and ran out of the gym. Haley stood motionless staring at Jake's retrieving back.

"Jake has a kid?" Nathan asked from behind Haley.

"Yeah." She whispered. "I gotta talk to him." She said and started to walk towards the exit. Nathan followed her. As soon as they were gone, the noise level rose to a maximum at the gym. This was the kind of drama that just didn't happen in Tree Hill.

Haley ran outside. She couldn't see Jake or Peyton anywhere.

"Where are they?" Haley asked.

"I don't know. Do you think it's wise to try to find to them now? They probably have a lot to talk to about." Nathan said.

"I have to find. Make them understand." Haley said while starting to walk the side of the building.

"You can do it tomorrow. Give them some space now." Nathan said.

"No! They need to understand that I'm sorry. That I didn't mean it." Haley said with a desperate voice. She walked around the corner but froze when she saw two persons in front of her. Making out. She immediately recognized the blonde hair.

"Lucas?" Haley asked confused. Lucas turned around revealing the girl he was making out with. Brooke. Haley stared at her.

"Haley?" Lucas asked. He had that deer in headlights look in his face. Haley looked between Brooke and Lucas and suddenly everything made sense. The reason why Lucas had acted so weird the whole week, why he sounded so out of breath when he answered his cell, why neither of them had appeared on lunch the entire two weeks, why Lucas had locked his door after the party, why Brooke had come right after Lucas on the try-outs and why she had disappeared right after Lucas left.

"You two..." Haley started.

"Listen to me, Haley! It's not what it looks!" Lucas said.

"What! So you two just didn't have your tongues in each other's throats! You two are not dating! Because that's what it looks like!" Haley screamed.

"Haley, calm down." Lucas started. Haley's eyes flashed.

"No, I will so _not_ calm down! Lucas, you lied to me!" Haley screamed.

"Haley-"

"You made me feel like crap for dating Nathan when all this time you went behind my back! You made me miserable with your speaches and all this time you were dating her!"

"Haley, please-"

"I even asked you once if there was something going on between you guys and you lied to me! You lied to my face!"

"Haley, please. I had my reasons-"

"Yeah, you did! Your reason is yourself! You don't care about anyone else besides yourself! You're a hypocrite!"

"Haley, you have to listen to me-"

"Shut up, Lucas!"

"Don't talk to him like that." Brooke said.

"Excuse me! Did _you _just talk! Brooke, you better not open that mouth again or I will slap it shut." Haley said angrily. Brooke narrowed her eyes in anger. Nobody talked to her like that.

"Oh, I will talk, Haley. Why don't you give Lucas a break. It's not like your boyfriend here is Mr. Innocent either." Brooke said. Nathan looked at her with a warning glare.

"Brooke, don't." Nathan warned. Lucas and Haley turned to look at him.

"Nathan, what's she talking about?" Haley asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing. She doesn't know anything." Nathan said quickly.

"Oh, don't I? Is Haley aware of why you were interested in her in the first place?" Brooke asked while glaring at Nathan who was busy glaring at her back.

"Brooke, you don't know anything." Nathan said. Haley turned to look at him.

"Apparently she knows _something_. So why don't you just spill it out." Haley said angrily. Nathan just looked between Brooke and Haley.

"Well, if you ain't talking, then I am." Brooke said and turned to look at Haley. "The reason you guys got together in the first place was so he could find out who your racer was." Brooke said. Nathan looked at the ground and Haley turned to look at him.

"What?" she asked in shock. She had almost told him the truth about the driver. She felt beyond betrayed. "Everything we've done... It's all been because of that stupid race?" Haley asked feeling betrayed.

"No, that's not true." Nathan said while taking a step towards Haley. Haley took one back.

"So, you didn't wanna try to find out who our racer was when you first met me?" Haley asked with narrowed eyes.

"I did- But then I didn't- It's not like that- It doesn't matter." Nathan said trying to find the right words.

"It damn sure matters!" Haley yelled. "Don't you get it! Everything between us has been a lie!" She said.

"No, it hasn't. It doesn't matter. I never cared about the race or the driver." Nathan said.

"You asked me who the driver was!" Haley exploded.

"Lucas was right about you all along." Haley then said. "I didn't talk to my best friend for a week because I believed you were a good guy. But he was right all along." Haley said. Lucas smiled a little. Unfortunately for him, Haley saw that.

"You better wipe that fucking smile of your face before I do." She said glaring at him. "Just because you were right about him, doesn't make you the good guy. You lied to me for god knows how long and made me feel like shit while sneaking behind my back. So, don't for even one second think that we're cool." Haley said glaring at Lucas.

"Haley, listen to me." Nathan started desperately. "It was never about that! The whole race meant nothing to me."

"You asked me who the driver was!" Haley yelled.

"It meant nothing." Nathan said.

"Haley, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about dating Brooke. I just didn't want to upset you." Lucas said in turn. He needed to fix things with Haley.

"It was never about the race. I really do care about you." Nathan said.

"You're my best friend, Haley. I would never do anything to hurt you." Lucas said.

"Both of you, shut up!" Haley screamed. She was sick of hearing them talk.

Haley turned to look at Lucas. "You were my best friend." Haley said angrily. Lucas flinched at the past tense. "I thought of you as my brother, Lucas. This past week has been hell for me. And it was because of you. You made me miserable. Best friends aren't supposed to do that." Haley said and then turned to look at Nathan.

"And you. Lucas betraying me doesn't even feel half as bad as the feeling that he was right all along. All the misery that I've had this week was for nothing. He was right about you all along. Everything between has been a lie and you really didn't care about me." Haley said upset.

"Don't say that-" Nathan started. He had to make Haley understand that the race meant nothing to him.

"Shut up!" Haley screamed. Brooke stared at Haley quietly. She hadn't said a word since she told Haley the news about Nathan. And now she was starting to wish she hadn't.

"Haley, just calm down." Lucas said soothingly.

"Just let me explain." Nathan said and then looked at Lucas. "Let _us_ explain." Haley looked between the two.

"What a sight. Scott brothers finally agreeing on something." Haley said sarcastically. "Who knew you two had so much in common?"

"Haley-" they both started at the same time.

"Since the two of you seem to be getting along so well, let me say this only once. To both of you." Haley said and glared at the two. "'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'" she quoted. "I'm not gonna get fooled twice." Haley said and paused to look at the two.

"I don't want to have anything to do with either of you from now on. Stay away from me. After tomorrow's race, consider me out of your lives." Haley said seriously. She was sick of all the drama and bullshit that was in her life. She looked at the two one more time, then turned around and started to walk away.

"You can't just _not_ see us anymore." Nathan said.

"Yeah, we won't let you just disappear." Lucas said. Haley turned to look at the two with a blank and dead expression on her face.

"I'm done with this drama and I'm done with you both. Stay away from me." Haley said and turned around. She walked away from them and when she got around the corner, she started to run.

Nathan, Brooke and Lucas stood at the same spots without saying anything. Neither of them really understood what had just happened. Nathan turned to look at Brooke angrily.

"Are you happy now!" Brooke looked at him with a guilty face. Lucas turned to look at Nathan angrily.

"Leave her out of this. This is all your fault!" Lucas said.

"My fault! If it weren't for Brooke and her big mouth, Haley wouldn't be mad at me!" Nathan said while pointing at Brooke.

"If it weren't for you, Haley and I wouldn't have fought in the first place!"

"If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have felt miserable for the past week!"

"Yeah, and I was right all along! You don't care about her! You just wanted to mess with her!" Lucas yelled angrily

"Shut up! That's not true! You lied to her face!"

"So did you!"

"Both of you, shut up." Brooke said angrily. "This is helping no one. Haley left. You might wanna try and find her." She said. Nathan looked at them both angrily before leaving.

"Luke, I'm sorry. I feel like it's all my fault." Brooke said.

"No, it's Nathan's fault. You only told the truth." Lucas said and hugged Brooke.

"We should go find her." Brooke said.

"Yeah." Lucas said sadly.

"Don't worry, we'll find her." Brooke said and ran her hand through Lucas' hair. Lucas sighed sadly.

"I don't know." Lucas said.

"Tree Hill is a small place. She has to be here somewhere." Brooke said while opening the passenger side door to Lucas' truck.

"If Haley doesn't want to be found, she won't be found."


	15. Chapter 13

Hey, guys! So, I'm back with an update. This chapter is the race. This is full of drama but I also tried to write some funny stuff as well. Let me know how I did, I can always try something else if comedy's not my thing. Thank you all so much for the awesome reviews I've gotten! They are the best. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think. :)

Chapter 13

Haley didn't want to be found.

She was running as fast as she could. Away from the school and away from the Scott brothers. She had taken her shoes off but she didn't know where to run. She couldn't go to her house because that was the first place they would look. She also didn't feel like talking to Taylor. Haley knew that Taylor would only try to make her feel better by trying to get her to talk to Nathan and Lucas and that was the last thing she wanted.

She couldn't go to River court or the café either.

Haley found herself at the docks, looking at the ocean. She went to sit on one of the wooden benches that was there. She had never been there before so she was quite certain she wouldn't be found. She pulled her knees up and hugged them.

She had never felt so betrayed. The past week she had been trying to talk to Lucas and explain that Nathan was a good guy and not the same person he was before. And all that time Lucas had been saying she was wrong and how Nathan was gonna break her heart. He had made her feel awful for dating him.

Then she found out that Lucas had been dating Brooke all along. He had lied to her face while making her feel guilty about everything she did.

Then there was Nathan. Haley had never really dated anyone. Just few one night stands with some random college guys she had met when she had partied with the girls in the soccer team. But Nathan was the first guy she had any feelings for. Opening up to him and letting him see the real her had been so hard for her and now she felt like her feelings for him had been thrown back to her face.

Nathan only went after her because he wanted to know their driver. There was some definite irony in there since she was actually the driver and he didn't even know about it. She wanted to believe Nathan when he said that it wasn't about the race for him but she couldn't help but remember him asking her about it at his party.

But the thing that hurt the most when it came to Nathan, was that Lucas was actually right about him. All that suffering she had done the past week had been for nothing, because he had been right all along.

Then there was also Jake and Peyton. She had really started to get to know Peyton. Haley knew that she shouldn't have lied but she felt like Jenny wasn't her secret to tell. Now they were both mad at her.

Haley sighed in sadness and wondered when her life had become so damn complicated.

"Gods must really hate me..." Haley muttered while running her hands up and down her arms. It was cold.

Haley didn't know how long she sat there looking at the ocean but when she saw the sun starting to rise, she knew it was time to go home. Haley walked slowly towards her house.

The hours Haley had sat on the dock had made her realize that she still needed to race. She didn't care about East or West anymore, for all she cared they could hate each other for eternity. The reason she wanted to race, and also to win, was because she needed closure. She had said that after the race she would want nothing from neither of the Scott brothers. She knew she wasn't ready to let either of them go for good but she needed a lot of alone time. But first she wanted to get over with the race.

She needed to win it.

Haley noticed that she was in front of Keith's auto shop. She took the small spare key from under the welcome rug _so obvious_, she thought, and opened the front door. She closed it and made her way to the back of the store where her car would be. She looked at the car and sighed. She sat down on the small bench on the side of the wall and lifted her knees up again. She massaged her feet and toes a bit so she could get the blood circling. All that walking on the cold ground without her shoes had made her feet numb.

Haley sat for a while inside the dark room. Suddenly the lights went on and she saw a very surprised, very shocked looking Keith Scott standing on the doorway.

"Jesus Christ, Haley. You trying to kill me here?" Keith asked while holding her heart. Then he took a better look at Haley. She was wearing a black formal dress with no shoes on. Her hair was a bit messed up and she looked like she hadn't slept at all.

"Haley, are you alright?" he asked while walking closer to Haley. Haley looked at him and smiled brightly. He could instantly tell it was fake.

"Yeah, I'm great. Just came to pick up my car." She said while pointing at the black car.

"At..." he looked at his watch "...seven thirty in the Saturday morning?"

"Yeah." She said and forced a smile.

"What happened, Haley? I know last night you kids had some dance that had some stupid name. It looks like you never went home." He said and took out a thermostat from his bag. He held it up in the air. "Coffee?" Haley smiled a real smile.

"Yes, please." She said. She watched Keith take two plastic mugs from the cabinet and pour some coffee in both of them. He gave Haley the other cup and sat down next to her.

"Are you hurt?" he asked. "Do you need to see a doctor?" he asked worried.

"Just the kind that specializes in psychiatry." She said smiling a bit. She turned to look at Keith who still looked worried.

"No, I'm not hurt. No need for a doctor." Keith sighed in relief.

"That's good to hear." He said and took a sip from his coffee. Haley did the same. They sat in silence for almost 15 minutes drinking their coffees when Haley suddenly spoke.

"Jake's not talking to me. Lucas and Nathan betrayed me." Haley said. Keith turned to look at her with a surprised face. He hadn't expected Haley to say anything to him.

"Luke and Nate betrayed you? With each other...?" Keith asked a bit uncomfortable. Haley laughed loudly for the implication that Nathan and Lucas were gay.

"I take that as a no." Keith said smiling.

"Yeah, it's a definite no."

"Good, because that would've been weird." Keith said and congratulated himself silently for making Haley laugh.

"Not to mention incest."

"So, if they're not gay..." Keith started.

"It's a long story." Haley said and sighed. She drank the rest of the cold coffee.

"Ok. Whatever happened, I hope you are alright." He said and hugged her quickly.

"I am." Haley said but neither of them believed. "I will be." She corrected. She looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost 8 am.

"I should go home. Taylor's probably freaking out." Haley said.

"Taylor's back?" Keith asked surprised.

"Yep. It's a long story too. I'll tell you all about it next time. But now I gotta go."

"Do you want a ride home?" Keith asked while looking at her bare feet.

"No, I came to pick up the car, remember." She said.

"Oh, that's right." Keith said. "I already filled the tank yesterday so you don't need to worry about that." Keith said. Haley turned around and walked towards Keith. She gave him a big hug.

"Thanks for everything, Uncle Keith." She said while hugging him fiercely. Keith smiled. Haley had called him uncle since the first time she met him.

"No problem. You know you can always talk to me, right?" Keith said. Haley let go of him and smiled a little.

"Yeah, I do. Thanks for everything Keith." She said and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. Haley smiled again and opened the garage door and got inside her own car.

"Oh, and you look very pretty." Keith said to Haley.

"Thanks." She said sincerely. "And special thanks for not asking if I'm wearing a sports bra."

"That would've been my next question." He said grinning. Haley rolled her eyes but smiled at the same time. She turned on the engine.

"Take care, Haley." Keith yelled before Haley drove off. Haley waived back at him and headed towards her house.

It was the first time she was driving her new car and it felt awesome. She could hardly hear the engine because it ran so smoothly. She looked around at the quiet town of Tree Hill and wondered for a brief second what Nathan, Lucas and Jake were doing at that moment.

Haley got to her driveway and went to open the garage. She drove her car inside it and closed the door. She went inside the house as quietly as possible. She didn't have time to turn on the lights before she heard a panicked voice.

"Where the hell have you been?" Taylor asked panicking. She was still wearing the white slutty dress and her hair was messed up. She had dark circles under her eyes. She obviously hadn't slept at all.

"Out." She said and went to sit on the couch. Taylor followed her.

"Are you ok?" she asked concerned.

"Yeah. Just tired." Haley said.

"Yeah, join the club." Taylor mumbled and sat down next to Haley. "You should talk to Nathan and Lucas. They're worried about you." Taylor said. Haley turned to look at her with a confused look.

"How do you know that I fought with them?"

"You kidding? Nathan's been here three times asking if you're back and Lucas twice. And he mentioned coming back in the morning. They've also called non-stop." Taylor said.

"Looks like you had a busy night."

"Yeah, I could say the same for you. Where were you?"

"At the docks. I went to Keith's to get my car about an hour ago." Haley said.

"You spend the whole night at the docks?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah." Haley said with a tired voice and closed her eyes.

"You suicidal?" she asked.

"Only in the mornings." She joked with a tired voice. Then she suddenly opened her eyes. "Wait, did you say Lucas is gonna come here?"

"Yeah, he mentioned that he will come by in the morning." Taylor said. Haley got up and dragged Taylor up too.

"What are you doing?" Taylor asked when Haley pulled her upstairs with her.

"We're gonna change and then we're gonna leave." She said while trying to get the black dress off of her.

"Wait! Where are we going?" she asked.

"Away. Now, help me with this dress." She ordered.

"Away? Are we running away? Lift your arms. Running away doesn't solve any problems." Taylor said while giving her instructions on how to get the dress off.

"I know and we're not running away. Auch, that's my elbow! I just can't see Luke or Nate right now."

"Well isn't the race tonight? Tilt your head."

"Yeah, at six. What the hell are you doing to my back? You're coming to the race with me, by the way."

"Sure. The damn zipper is stuck. But you're gonna see them there."

"Not if you come with me and keep them away from me. Watch the arm."

"So, I'm like your personal bodyguard. Now, that's hot. Lift your legs."

"Both?"

"Do you know how to lift both legs at the same time? Just one, stupid. So, do I get a cool ear button like all bodyguards have? No, the other leg."

"Sure, if you find one. Stop pulling my left leg."

"Stop whining. Now, both hands up."

"I don't whine. Much. Hey, you got it off!"

"What can I say. Getting clothes off is my specialty."

"You ho."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you need any help with your white, slutty dress?"

"What did I just say? I'm excellent in getting out of clothes. Voíla!"

"Wow, that was fast. I hardly had time to blink."

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

"No, _you-_"

"Why are we standing here only wearing thongs."

"Because we're a couple of hot bitches, my friend."

"Fantastic. Hand me those sweatpants, will you?"

"Sweatpants? Haley, hot bitches don't wear sweatpants."

"Well, this hot bitch does. Pants, please."

"Fine, here you go. But someone's got to keep up appearances so I'm wearing leather pants."

"I would expect nothing less from you. Hand me that sports bra."

"Sports bra? You're kidding, right."

"Fine, give me that bra then."

"But it's beige. Beige is not hot."

"Who's gonna see it!"

"You'll feel it!"

"Fine, give me any bra you want. I don't care."

"Awesome. Here you go."

"It's kinda itchy."

"That's because of the feathers."

"I can see my nipples."

"I know, isn't it awesome?"

"Whatever. I need a shirt."

"Yeah, me too."

"This'll do."

"You gonna wear that?"

"Taylor, this is a perfectly fine shirt."

"Sure, if you're going to a soccer practise."

"Whatever. I'm still wearing it."

"Ooh, this is hot. I like this shirt."

"It's yours."

"Should've known."

"Have you seen my Keith Scott sweatshirt anywhere?"

"You're wearing sweatshi-"

"Taylor."

"Sorry, yeah it's in the kitchen."

"You ready? Let's go."

"Yeah."

"Take your purse with you. You're buying breakfast, lunch and dinner."

"There's food in the fridge."

"I know. But we're not coming back till after the race." Haley said while getting inside the car with Taylor and reversing from the garage. This time, without any injuries.

"Hey, did I ever tell you about that one time when me and Aaron went-"

"Aaron Whitman?"

"No, Aaron Dawson, my second boyfriend. Whitman was fourth."

"In junior year?"

"No, sophomore."

"Oh! Was Aaron Dawson the guy with the tongue piercing?"

"That was Greg Daniels. Oh, and also Jason Smith."

"The guy you met in Cancun in the Spring break of 2001?"

"No, you're confusing him with Jorgé. The guy I met in Tijuana in 2000."

"Who did you meet in Cancun in 2001?"

"I was in Cancun in 1999. In 2001 I went to Rio de Janeiro."

"I thought that was 2003."

"Nope, I went to Miami then. Don't you know anything?"

"Well, it's not the easiest job in the world. I don't understand how you can do it."

"Do what?"

"Connect the names with the faces."

"Oh, that's because I don't connect the names with their _faces_, you know."

"Huh?"

"When I hear a name, I only remember the size of their di-"

"Yeah, gotcha. That's so gross, by the way."

"Whatever. It helps me remember, you know."

"So, you were telling me something about Aaron."

"Whitman?"

"No Dawson."

"I can't remember. But Whitman and I had sex in the bath tub."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Cause you're my hot bitch."

"You're unbelievable."

"Thank you very much. Hey, my cell's ringing."

"Who is it?"

"Oh, it's Nathan."

"He has your cell phone number?"

"Yeah, well after he came over the third time I just decided to give him the number."

"Don't answer it."

"I have to!"

"Don't answer it."

"Ok, I won't."

"Good."

"Hi Nathan."

"Taylor!"

"Yeah, that's her... She's sitting next to me... We're in a car... Haley, Nathan wants to talk to you."

"Shut the damn phone off!"

"Haley is unavailable right now. Can I take a message?... Ok, I'll tell her that. Haley, Nathan says he's really sorry and could you please talk to him."

"Shut off the damn phone before I do!"

"Sorry Nathan, gotta go. See you at the race. Bye."

"Did you _have_ to answer!"

"Yeah, because last night after the second time he called, I promised him I'd let him know as soon as I heard from you so he could stop worrying."

"Worrying?"

"Well, he didn't call me four times just for the kicks."

"Oh."

"Where the hell are we going anyways?"

"Towards the race track. We're gonna hang out at the town till 6 pm and then I'm gonna race and I'm gonna win and then we can come back home."

"Sounds like a plan."

"And a damn good one, might I say."

After about an hour of driving they finally got to their destination. They went to an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet around 10 am where they stayed till the place closed which was at 2 pm. Then they went to sit on the beach where they remained till about 5 pm. Taylor slept the whole time on the beach but Haley just couldn't. Her mind was so restless that she couldn't concentrate on anything. Plus she had drank about a liter of coffee at brunch.

"Mmmm, Michael, that feels good..."

"Taylor, wake up."

"Wha- Hey, you're not Michael." Taylor said after opening her eyes.

"My apologies." Haley said dryly. "We gotta go now." Haley said and got up.

"What time is it?" Taylor asked while they were walking towards the car.

"About 5. The race is in an hour."

"Did you get any sleep?" Taylor asked concerned.

"No." Haley said and sighed. She was so tired but she knew that she couldn't sleep even if she tried harder.

"When was the last time you slept more than 4 hours a night?" Taylor asked suddenly. Haley was in the middle of opening her front door when she froze.

"I can't remember." She said shocked and got inside the car. She started driving towards the race track. "It's been like a week. Last Saturday was Nathan's party where Lucas got all hypocrit-ty on me. I haven't really slept after that. Then finally yesterday morning when we did make up, the Weast came. And I definitely didn't sleep last night."

"Do you think it's smart to race if you haven't slept well?" Taylor asked worried.

"The amount of coffee I drank during the brunch would keep Shrek awake for a month."

"True. After you went to ask for a refill for the –was it- seventh time, the lady looked like she was gonna tell you to make your own damn coffee." Taylor said laughing. The rest of the ride went in silence. They finally got to the huge race track. Haley saw that the gate was open so she just drove in. As soon as she did it, a good looking dark-haired man came to stop them.

"Who the hell are you?" the man asked when Haley rolled down her window.

"I'm here for the race." She said smoothly. She could see the dark haired guy checking out Taylor who was more than happy to flirt back. Haley glared at the guy.

"Nice car. You the racer?" he asked from Haley.

"Actually that's supposed to be a secret till the end of the race. I'm just driving this here for our racer so he won't get recognized beforehand." Haley lied smoothly.

"East or the West side?"

"East." Haley and Taylor said at the same time. They guy was still checking out Taylor. Taylor grinned and offered her hand for him to shake.

"Hey, I'm Taylor." She said in a flirty voice. Haley rolled her in eyes in annoyance.

"Call me Cooper."

"Nice to meet ya, Cooper." He said and turned to look at Haley. He waited for her to introduce herself. Instead Haley just looked at him annoyed.

"Nice to meet you too." She said annoyed. Taylor elbowed Haley.

"So sorry, Cooper. This is my little sister Haley." Taylor said.

"Hey, Haley." He said but Haley just glared at him. "I'm Cooper. I own this race track."

"Wait, you're Cooper? As in uncle Coop? As in Nathan's uncle?" Haley asked not believing the odds. Cooper just nodded in confusion.

"Of _course_ you're related to him. Everybody in this frigging _state_ is related to him." Haley muttered in an even more annoyed voice.

"You know Nathan?"

"You could say so..."

"Wait, you're name was Haley, right. Haley James. Nathan's Haley." Cooper said in excitement.

"I am Haley. Just not Nathan's Haley anymore." Haley said trying to hide her sadness.

"What?" Cooper asked shocked. "What the hell happened? Yesterday when I talked to him he wouldn't shut up about you. He was so excited to take you to some dance with a weird name."

"The Weast." Taylor said. Cooper looked at her in confusion.

"What? 'The Weast?' What the hell kind of a name is that?"

"It's what you get when you combine East and West." Taylor explained.

"Clever. What happened there?" Cooper asked from Haley while leaning on Haley's door.

"I'm sure Nathan will be more than happy to give you the details." Haley said annoyed. She was tired of his questions.

"Ok, don't get your panties in a twist. So, you here for the race? There's a private area on the field for both sides. East on the right, West on the left. Enjoy!" he said and winked at Taylor.

"Bye, Cooper!" Taylor yelled when Haley started to roll the window up again. Haley drove towards the center of the field. There were two small buildings, more like big garages, in the middle of the race track. Haley drove to the one that was on the right side.

There were few couches, a fridge, equipment in case something happened to the car, and a coffee maker. Haley thanked the lord at that moment. The garage was very big but the best part was that there were only few small windows so it gave total privacy from the outside and that was enough for Haley. She parked the car inside the garage and went to shut the door. She and Taylor got out of the car and went to sit on the couch.

"Only 45 minutes till the start of the race. You nervous?" Taylor asked.

"Naw, not nervous. But the tiredness is starting to creep in." Haley said.

"Take a nap." Taylor said.

"If I sleep now, I won't be able to wake up."

"Ok, but after the race I'm gonna force you to sleep." Taylor said smiling. "For one week straight! You need the rest." Taylor said and grinned.

"Deal." Haley said and smiled.

"Promise me one thing." Taylor said.

"Anything. Except ever wear this bra again. I swear to god I'm gonna rip the feathers off any second." Haley said laughing but Taylor wasn't smiling.

"Promise me you won't get hurt out there." She said with a serious face.

"Yeah, or course." Haley said.

"No really, promise me. Don't do anything stupid." She said.

"Yeah, I promise." Haley said.

"Good. Now, what was the West driver's name again?" Taylor asked.

"Tim." Haley said.

"Is he any good?"

"Well, he'll probably have the fastest car from Dan Scott's dealership –so fucking unfair- and he's best friends with Nathan. So yeah, he's probably good." Haley said.

"Well, you're better. Just be careful." Taylor said.

"I will." Haley said and put her head on Taylor's lap. They spent about 15 minutes just lying there talking about their lives when suddenly the garage door opened. Haley turned to look at it fearing that it was Nathan or Lucas. But it was Cooper. Haley saw that Taylor quickly pulled her shirt a little bit lower to show more cleavage.

"Hey, girls." He said while making his way towards them. He was carrying a helmet and huge overalls.

"What's up, Coop?" Taylor said with a flirty voice.

"Not much. Your racer here?" Cooper asked.

"No, he's getting ready for the race. Do you want to leave a message?"

"Here are the overalls and the helmet for him. Let him know that the race starts 6 o'clock sharp. They drive 3 rounds and naturally the first one across the finish line after three rounds, wins. No rules except don't get killed. Can you tell him that?" Coop asked while giving Haley the helmet and the overalls.

"Yeah, sure." Haley said and expected Cooper to leave but for her surprise, Taylor got up also.

"Wait, where are you going?" Haley asked with a panicked voice. "You can't leave me alone."

"We'll be right back. We're just gonna go check that everything's ready for the race." Taylor said and linked arms with Cooper. Haley sat down defeated and started to bite her nails. She didn't want to be alone. Maybe the God was listening because right that moment the doors opened again.

"Haley." Lucas said when he saw her. Haley got up from the couch the second she heard Lucas' voice.

"Get out." Haley said angrily while trying to push him through the door. Lucas being almost twice her size, didn't move.

"Haley, we have to talk." Lucas said.

"No, we don't. In fact I don't ever want to talk to again. Leave!" she said.

"No, you have to hear me out. I didn't mean to hurt you. Believe me, that was the last thing I wanted."

"You knew damn well what you were doing! You lied to my face, Lucas. You made me feel guilty and miserable for dating a West, when you were doing the exact same thing! You even said that I was becoming one of them! So, don't try to give me that bullshit!" Haley screamed.

"Haley, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'll do anything. What do want me to do? What do you need me to do?" Lucas pleaded. Haley looked at him with an emotionless face.

"I need you to leave me alone. For good." Haley said.

"I'm not gonna do that, Haley." Lucas said. "I'm not gonna give up on us."

"You should, Lucas. Because I have." She said. "Now, leave." She said and opened the door for him.

"Ok, I'm gonna go now and let you get ready for the race. But I'm not giving up on us, Haley. I never will." He said and left. Haley took a deep, shaky breath and went to sit down on the couch. She had her elbows on her knees and she leaned forwards so her head was resting against her palms. Haley didn't know how long she stayed like that but it couldn't have been more than five minutes. Suddenly she heard the door open again.

"Lucas, I said I don't want to talk-" Haley froze when she saw that it was Nathan at the door. She got up quickly.

"Haley, we need to talk." He said and started to walk towards her. Haley took few steps back.

"The hell we do." She said angrily.

"You need to know the truth." Nathan said.

"I think I know enough."

"But you don't know the truth." Nathan said.

"Yes, I do! The only reason we got together was so you could find out our racer! Everything between us has been a lie! And unlike you, I can't stay in a relationship that's based on a lie!" Haley yelled. She was starting to lose control. All of her emotions were starting to come out.

"It hasn't been about that in a long time, Haley. You've got to believe that."

"You're lying!"

"No, I'm not. I'm telling the truth. Trust me." Nathan said and took a hold of Haley's shoulders so he could really look her in the eyes.

"But see, the thing is that... I don't." Haley said in a quiet voice and took a step back. "I don't trust you, Nathan." Haley said with a broken heart. Nathan looked down with a matching face. "And if there's no trust, there's nothing." Haley said and looked down while trying to keep the tears away.

"Haley, I know you're mad at me and I understand it." Nathan said in a quiet voice. "But this past week has been the best one in my life." He said and paused for a second.

"I'm gonna respect your wish and give you your space. But I'm not gonna give up on us. I care about you too much." He said and gave her a small kiss on the cheek before leaving. When he opened the door, Taylor came in at the same time. They both nodded to each other in acknowledgement. Taylor closed the door and looked at Haley in a worried look.

"You ok?" she asked and went to stand in front of her.

"No, I'm so _not_ ok." Haley said upset and started to change her clothes.

"Just calm down, everything's gonna be alright." Taylor said. Haley turned to look at her with a pale face.

"Alright? _Alright!_ Everything is _not_ alright! In fact, it's the total opposite!" Haley yelled upset. "Everything's been turned upside down and I feel like I'm losing it! My best friend betrayed me, my boyfriend lied to me and my other best friend won't talk to me! I'm so sick of all of this! I haven't seen my parents in weeks and I have slept about 10 hours in the past 7 nights!" Haley yelled hysterically.

"My life is falling apart!" she yelled and threw her sweatshirt across the room in anger. Taylor looked at her concerned and pulled her in for a hug.

"It's ok. Everything will be ok. I promise." Taylor said while hugging Haley. Haley stood there motionless without saying anything. "It's ok, you can let it all out." Taylor said when Haley didn't say anything. Haley took a step back and looked at Taylor.

"I'm not gonna cry." She said with a numb feeling inside of her.

"It's ok to cry, Haley." She said. "You can't hold it all in forever. You shouldn't hold it all in." Taylor said looking at Haley with an even more worried look. Right then Haley looked so small and weak. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing huge men's overalls. She was pale and shaking a little bit.

"I'm ok, Taylor." Haley said and sat down on the couch. Taylor sat down next to her. Haley put her head in her lap.

"How did you manage to change?" Haley asked suddenly.

"Change what?"

"Your whole life. You were this party girl/alcoholic for such a long time. What made you change?" Haley asked. Taylor sighed and started to play with Haley's hair with her fingers.

"One morning, it was like a Tuesday or something, I woke up in a town I'd never been to. I didn't remember how I had gotten there and it just freaked me out. I knew I needed to change. I found a bus stop and decided to take the first bus that came. It was a bus to New York and that's how I ended up there." Taylor said. Haley didn't say anything so she decided to continue.

"But I haven't changed my personality or anything. I'm still the same wacky ho from the East side." Taylor said smiling. "I've just left all the physical negative stuff like men and booze out. It was starting to eat me alive. I felt like I was dying slowly." She said.

"So, it was kind of like cancer?" Haley said.

"Yeah, that's one way of looking at it." she said. "Why. What are you thinking?" she asked from Haley.

"I think Lucas and Nathan are my cancer." Haley said in a weak voice.

"No, don't say that." Taylor said.

"I don't want to but I think it's true. They've caused me nothing but pain." Haley said and sat up.

"That's not true. Lucas is your best friend and Nathan adores you."

"I can't trust either of them anymore. I'm just so sick of feeling like this. So lost. It's like everything around me is changing and I just can't keep up. I need to move on. But I don't think I can do it with Nathan and Lucas." Haley said sadly.

"Oh baby..." Taylor said and hugged her. Haley looked at clock on the wall and noticed that it was 5.55 pm. She stood up from the couch.

"The race is in five minutes." She said and started to put the helmet on. Taylor quickly got up and hugged her before she had time to put it on.

"Promise me you'll be careful." She said.

"I promise." Haley said.

"Good. Be safe out there, sis." She said and kissed her on the top of her head.

"I will." Haley said in a monotone voice and put her helmet on. "Can you open the doors for me?" Haley asked while getting inside her car.

"Sure. Be safe." She said and opened them for her. Haley drove outside and noticed that a lot of people had showed up. The starting spot had people on both sides. She could tell that all the Wests were on the left side and all the Easts were on the right side, waiting for Haley to get there.

She drove slowly to the starting line and looked around. She had tinted windows and so did the other racer. Also they were both wearing overalls and huge helmets so there was no way they could identify each other inside their cars.

She could see a lot of Easts on the right side of the car. Haley didn't see Lucas anywhere. She assumed he was most likely somewhere in the East crowd, trying not to get seen by any of the Wests before the start of the race.

Haley noticed Fergie and Skills chatting with Jake. They were all standing close to her car. Jake seemed to be looking for someone, probably Peyton. Haley's and Jake's eyes met for a brief second. Jake stared at her in the eyes and then turned back to Skills and Fergie. Haley sighed and turned to look at her left. She was so tired of everything.

She saw that the West driver was staring at her. Haley couldn't see his face because of the helmet and he couldn't see her face either. Haley just sighed again not really caring about anything.

All the fights with Nathan, Lucas and Jake, not sleeping at nights etc. were starting to take their toll on Haley.

She saw Cooper come in front of the two cars. He motioned for them to lower their windows a bit so they could hear him.

"Alright you two. It's one minute to 6. You go three rounds. No rules except don't get killed. But remember fair game, alright?" he asked. Both drivers honked in agreement and rolled their windows up. Haley could see that the West's car was the newest and fastest in Dan Scott's dealership. It was blood red and very shiny. You could tell that it didn't have many miles in it.

Then Cooper came with a big flag and went to stand in front of the two cars, in the middle. Haley put her hands on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. Coop lifted the flag in the air and waited for few seconds. And then he lowered it down.

Both cars sped off leaving tire marks on the ground. They were side by side untill the first turn where Nathan got in front of Haley because he was closer to the inside. Haley didn't react in any way. There were no cursing or hitting the wheel. Just calm, emotionless face.

They were now back at the start line and Haley could see that the crowd was going nuts. There was at least 100 people in both sides. The Wests were cheering on their driver and the Easts their own.

Haley was still right behind Nathan and she was starting to shake a bit. She needed to win this race. She needed the closure in order to move on with her life. She loved Nathan and Lucas more than anything, but she couldn't let them hurt her again. One time was enough. She knew that if it happened again, she couldn't take it.

They were now in the middle of the second round and Haley started to press the gas harder until she was side by side with the other driver. Haley pressed it even harder until she was in front of him. Suddenly she felt something hit the back of her car. Haley's car slowed down just a little bit, but enough for the other driver to pass her. He had deliberately hit her back bumper so he could get past her.

Haley pressed the gas hard until she was right behind him. She tried the same thing but he was prepared. He didn't slow down. Haley pressed the gas harder until she was right behind him. She could feel that her car couldn't last much longer. She didn't care. She pressed the gas again.

She could feel the car getting faster and faster. The steering wheel was starting to shake a little and Haley grabbed it harder. She looked at the road ahead of her and noticed that she was once again at the start up where the Easts and Wests were divided. _One last time_.

Those words, _one last time_, somehow got stuck in her head. She knew that it was the last round and the West driver was still in front of her. She realized then that after that last round, her life would become so much more different from the one it was now. She had told Nathan and Lucas that after the race, they were over. She wanted nothing to do with them. That moment was going to come in less than 30 seconds.

That thought finally brought tears to Haley's eyes. All the pain, the misery, the stress, the heartache; she could suddenly feel it all. _I guess Taylor was right when she said that I couldn't block everything out forever._ Haley let out a loud sob and pushed the gas pedal harder. She started to drive to the West's right side so she could get past them. Images of Lucas, Nathan, her family, herself as a kid came to her head. The tears were starting to block her vision and she could feel that the car couldn't hold much longer.

She didn't care about that. At that moment she didn't care about anything. And that thought scared her more than anything.

She was finally side by side with the West car. Through her tears Haley pressed the gas even harder but so did the other driver. Haley pressed it even harder and got in front of the West. But Haley didn't feel any joy. By that time she was crying so hard that her body was shaking hard. She was seeing images of Nathan and Lucas and this time Taylor too. Haley pressed the gas even harder, as if it would take her pain away. But it didn't.

She noticed that since she was driving so fast, her car was slowly starting to drift towards the outside of the race track. Haley saw that the wall was coming closer and closer but for some reason she didn't pull back. She just stared at the wall without feeling anything. It was like she didn't care if she was gonna hit it or not. She felt like she was frozen. Then, only few feet away from the wall, she grabbed the wheel harder and turned it sharply to the left so she wouldn't hit the wall.

But it was too late. The right side of the car hit the wall hard. Her car started to spin madly around and she couldn't look at anything because of spinning so hard. Haley closed her eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. She let out one last sob. The last thing she saw in her head was her and Nathan's first kiss.

Then everything went black.

-----------------

So, how was it? I realized after I wrote this chapter that I didn't write enough about the actual race, especially because it's kind of like the basic idea of this whole story. I'm just really not that good when it comes to writing technical stuff. And I also know nothing about cars. But I hope that my lack of knowlegde in cars didn't bother you. :) Anyways, remember to review!

-Fes-


	16. Chapter 14

Hey, guys! Thanks you big for all the reviews. Mean the world. Anyways, here's chapter 14. Hope you enjoy it and as always, please review. :)

Chapter 14

Nathan looked at the black car in front of him in confusion when it started to drift to the right side of the track. His face turned into even more confused when he realized that the driver wasn't pulling back. Nathan slowed down a bit.

"What the hell are you doing, Lucas?" Nathan mumbled while looking at the black car. He still thought that it was Lucas who was driving that car. The black car was getting closer and closer to the wall and Nathan was starting to get nervous.

"Pull back, you idiot!" Nathan yelled. Sure, he didn't like the guy but he didn't want him dead either. Nathan saw that the car was only few feet from the wall when it suddenly tried to turn left so it wouldn't hit the wall. Tried, being the key word.

Nathan held his breath when he saw the car hit the wall hard. He slowed down and watched in horror the black car spinning around. Then it hit the wall on the other side of the track.

Lucas, Jake and the rest of the crowd had gasped in shock when they had seen Haley's car smash against the wall. Everyone watched in shock at the scene in front of them without saying anything. Haley's crashed car was only about 50 feet from them all so they all had a perfect view. Suddenly they all heard a loud scream.

"Haley!" Everyone turned to see Taylor running as fast as she could towards the smashed race car. Lucas started to run also.

"Haley's the driver!" someone yelled from the crowd in shock.

The whole crowd gasped. They all had thought that Lucas was the driver. Some people started to run towards Haley's car. Some people yelled something about calling an ambulance and the rest didn't know what to do.

Nathan jumped out of his car and threw his helmet on the ground. He ran as fast as he could towards the damaged black car. He could see that it was slightly on fire so he needed to be fast in case it exploded. He pulled the door open and started to pull the driver out. Nathan finally got her out of the car and dragged her away from the wreck. Nathan laid her down on the ground and looked at her with a weird face. He noticed that Lucas wasn't supposed to be this small and light. He turned to look at his left and noticed people running towards them. He still didn't realize that one of them was Lucas and the driver in front of him was actually Haley.

Nathan took her helmet off very carefully to give her some air. His heart skipped a beat and he let the helmet drop to the ground when he noticed that it was Haley.

"Oh my god..." he whispered in shock and stared at Haley's pale face. She had a deep cut above her left eyebrow and it continued below her eye, to the top of her cheek. Apparently the glass of the helmet had broken and the glass had made a cut on her face. Nathan also noticed that her leg was a little bit twisted. It was probably broken. Taylor was the first person to get there.

"Oh my god, Haley!" She screamed and gathered Haley's limp body in her arms. "Please, baby wake up. Wake up. Wake up, goddammit!" Taylor was holding Haley in her arms and rocking back and forth.

"Haley!" Lucas yelled when he got there. He stared at Taylor and Haley in shock not really realizing what had happened. Nathan was still staring at Haley not saying anything. When he heard Lucas' voice he snapped out of his thoughts.

"What the fuck, man! You were supposed to be the driver!" he yelled.

"No, she's the one." Lucas said quietly without taking his eyes off of her.

"Haley..." Nathan whispered in denial. Suddenly Coop, Brooke, Jake and Peyton were there.

"Oh my god..." Jake said when he saw Haley's unconscious form. Peyton squeezed Jake's hand.

"The ambulance will be here any minute." Brooke said in a shaky voice.

"How is this possible?" Peyton whispered in a quiet voice. Nobody said nothing. They just stared at Haley. Few minutes later they heard the sirens. They turned to see an ambulance and fire truck speed their way. They moved a bit to the side to give them space. Two men got out of the ambulance and rushed to Haley's side.

"Miss, you need to move." The other said when Taylor didn't move.

"No, I can't leave her." Taylor mumbled without moving.

"Miss, we can't help her if you won't move." He said. Lucas took a hold of Taylor's arm and lifted her gently.

"Come on, Taylor. We should let them do their job." Lucas said. Taylor looked at him with teary eyes but let him help her get up from the ground. The men lifted Haley on the stretcher. They went to put her on the ambulance.

"Can we come too?" Nathan asked. The two men looked at the whole crowd.

"Any family members?"

"We all are." Peyton said quietly.

"Any blood-related?" he asked again.

"I'm her sister." Taylor said and stepped up.

"You can come. The rest of you will have to get your own rides." He said. Taylor jumped on the back of the van.

"Which hospital are you taking her?" Nathan asked.

"There's only one around here. It's in downtown." He said and closed the doors. The ambulance left.

"Anyone know where the hospital is?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, I do." Coop said. They all went back to their cars. Peyton and Brooke told the people who were still left that there was nothing they could do and that they should go home. Brooke drove with Lucas, Peyton with Jake. Nathan rode with Coop. Tim, who had refused to go home, followed them with his own car.

When they finally got to the hospital, they headed to the information desk.

"Hey, we're looking for Haley James." Lucas said. "She was just brought in here." The woman at the desk looked at her file.

"Yes, the car accident victim. She's being operated right now in the 4th floor. There's a waiting room there." She said. Lucas and the rest went to the elevators and to the fourth floor. When they got to the waiting room, they saw Taylor yelling to a janitor.

"Miss, I have no idea what's going on." He said apologetically. "You should just calm down and wait for a doctor to come." He said and left. Taylor huffed in annoyance and sat down on a bench.

"Taylor, have you heard anything yet?" Lucas said while sitting down next to her. Brooke and Peyton sat down next to him while Coop, Tim, Jake and Nathan took the bench opposite of them.

"No! Do I look like I've heard anything yet! No one's telling me nothing!" she said hysterically.

"I'm sure she's fine." Coop said.

"What if she's not!" Taylor asked. She saw a doctor walk past them. "Hey, you! Stop!" Taylor got up and yelled after the doctor.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"Yes, I need to know how my sister is doing. Haley James."

"I'm sorry. I just got here. I'm afraid you're going to have to wait for your doctor." He said and was about to leave. Taylor took a hold of his arm.

"Listen to me, you overpaid jerk. My sister could be dying and if you won't give me answers right now I'm gonna get very violent with you." She said angrily. The doctor gulped.

"Hold on, miss." He said and went to make a phone call. He came back a minute later.

"Your sister's still in surgery. I don't know any more right now. All you can do right now is wait." He said. When Taylor still looked at him unsatisfied, he continued. "The doctors will do everything they can." Taylor rolled her eyes. It was something only a doctor could say. She went back to sit with the others.

"What did he say?" Nathan asked.

"She's still in surgery." She said and sighed. She turned to look at Nathan.

"What the hell happened?" she asked. She didn't accuse him of anything, just wanted to know what had happened. Everybody turned to look at Nathan.

"I really don't know. Her car started to slip to the outside of the track and she didn't pull back until it was too late." Nathan said.

"She wouldn't just slip." Lucas said accusingly. Nathan glared at him.

"What are you saying? That I made her crash?" Nathan asked angrily.

"Guys..." Brooke said but they ignored her.

"Well, you did bump the back of her car!" Lucas said while glaring at him back.

"That had nothing to do with it! Come on!" Nathan said annoyed.

"All I know is that if she hadn't raced you, she wouldn't be in a surgery right now!"

"Well, if you had raced like she told me, she wouldn't be there either."

"Shut up!" Taylor yelled. "Both of you shut up." She paused. "I can't listen to this right now. If you wanna fight, do it elsewhere." She said and put her head in her hands. Lucas wrapped his arm around Brooke and Jake did the same to Peyton.

"Anyone want anything from the cafeteria?" Peyton asked while she and Jake stood up. They all shake their heads in denial.

Taylor, Nathan, Tim, Lucas and Brooke sat without saying anything. After a while Jake and Peyton came back with their coffees and some time after that Coop said he needed to go back to the track to take care of things.

They didn't know how long they sat there but it was almost morning when a doctor came to find them. Everyone turned to stare at him confused. They had been sitting in silence for so many hours that they had already gotten used to it.

"You here for Haley James?" the old man asked.

"Yes." Taylor said and got up. She walked with the doctor away from the others.

"How is my sister?" Taylor asked with a shaky voice.

"The surgery was a very difficult and a long one. Your sister had two broken ribs and a broken leg. But the real problem was with the amount of internal bleeding she had."

"So what does that mean?" Taylor asked.

"She's in recovery right now but she's still unconscious."

"When will she wake up?"

"It's up to her. It could be two hours or two months. Naturally, the sooner she does, the better chances she has of full recovery." The doctor said.

"But she will wake up, right?"

"We're staying optimistic but I have to honest with you. Many people have died of lesser accidents."

"So, it's not certain that she will wake up?" Taylor asked with her lips trembling.

"No." the doctor said. Taylor took a hold of the wall so she wouldn't faint. "But like I said, we're staying positive." The doctor said.

"When can I see her?" Taylor asked.

"She'll be moved to her own room around noon." The doctor said and left. Taylor was still leaning on the wall with her hand. She felt a sob coming but muffled it with her other hand. She brushed the tears away and went back to the others who were watching her with worried faces. The minute they saw her grab hold from the wall, they had feared the worst.

"I talked with the doctor." Taylor said like the others hadn't noticed. She sat down to her seat.

"What did he say?" Nathan asked with a numb face.

"He said..." Taylor started. "He said that the surgery was ok. She had few broken ribs and a broken leg." Taylor said. She had trouble saying the rest.

"But she's ok?" Peyton asked.

"Not exactly." Taylor said and ran a hand through her hair. "She had a lot of internal bleeding. She's in recovery right now." She said and took a deep breath. "But she might never wake up." Taylor finished in a small voice and covered her face with her hands while sobbing quietly. Nathan and the rest stared at her in shock.

They all sat there in silence for at least 4 hours. Taylor suddenly spoke.

"Does anyone have a cell phone I can borrow?" she asked. Brooke dug inside her purse and gave hers to Taylor.

"Thanks." She said and dialed a number and put the phone to her ear.

"Hey mom, it's Taylor... No, everything's not fine. Haley got into a car accident... She got out of surgery... They don't know yet... You should come back with dad. Take Matt with you... We're at Hope Memorial. You know where it is?... Yeah, see you." She said and turned the phone off. She turned to look at Brooke again.

"You mind if I still use it?" Taylor asked.

"My dad pays my bills and I'm not exactly talking to him right now. So for all I care, you can call to Egypt." Brooke said smiling a bit. Taylor smiled back in gratitude. She dialed another number and put the phone to her ear.

"Quinn, hi. It's Taylor..."

-----------------

After Taylor had called the entire family and drank 4 cups of coffee, it was finally noon. She got up and went to ask where her sister was. They said to go to room 4016. Taylor and the rest went there. Taylor put her on the door handle and took a deep breath.

She opened the door and could almost feel her heart miss a beat when she saw Haley's tiny form on the bed. She was wearing one of those extremely depressing looking hospital gowns. Her face was pale except for the bright red scar on her face. Taylor went to sit next to her bed and took a hold of her hand.

"Hey, Haley. It's me. You're gonna be fine so don't worry." Taylor said. "You've got a lot of people who care about you here. There's me, Lucas, Nathan, Jake, Peyton, Brooke, and that one guy Tim. You were right, he is kind of dumb." The others chuckled. Taylor smiled a little but she had tears in her eyes.

"We just want you to get well. Just open your eyes, honey." Taylor whispered in Haley's ear. She kept talking to Haley about all and everything and the rest kept looking at them.

The nurse came around 6 pm and announced that they should all go home because Haley needed her rest and the visiting hours were over. Peyton, Brooke, Lucas and Jake left reluctantly the room. Tim was about to follow them and leave the room but he froze when he saw that Nathan's wasn't coming.

"Nate?" Tim asked quietly. Nathan stared at Haley without saying anything. When Tim thought about it more, he realized that Nathan hadn't said a word since they got in the room. And that was six hours ago. Taylor looked up from her seat at Nathan.

"Nathan, you should go home. Get some rest." Taylor said softly.

"I can't." Nathan said. "She needs to know..." his voice was a whisper.

"She knows." Taylor said and smiled a bit. Nathan nodded and looked at Haley one more time before leaving with Tim. Taylor looked after them and sighed.

"He really is a keeper, Hales." She said and smiled at Haley. Taylor stayed with her the whole night.

Monday morning Taylor woke up early feeling weak and nauseous. She was almost about to go see a doctor herself when she realized she hadn't eaten since Saturday at that brunch buffet. She forced herself to go downstairs to the cafeteria to get some food and coffee. When she came back, she saw a bunch of nurses around Haley's bed.

"What's going on!" Taylor asked in a loud, panicked voice. The nurses turned to look at her.

"Miss James is stabilized enough so we're moving her to the hospital in Tree Hill. Closer to her home. We've already informed her parents." one of the women said.

"Can I go with her?" Taylor asked. "I don't have a ride."

"I'm sure we can work something out." She said and smiled. Taylor followed the women downstairs where they took Haley where the ambulances where. She was lifted once again inside the van. Taylor went to sit next to her with few ambulance guys.

Few hours later they were in a hospital in Tree Hill. Taylor went to check Haley's room and called Lucas and Nathan to let them know they were moved there. Taylor liked the new room much better. It had bigger windows, better view and it was much bigger. It even had a nice couch in it. She went to sit next to Haley's bed. She didn't have to stay alone for too long because Nathan came there.

"Nathan." Taylor said and nodded his way.

"Hey Taylor. How is she?" Nathan asked and went to sit to the other side of the bed.

"The same." Taylor said while looking at Haley. They both didn't say anything for a while.

"Do you think she can hear us?" Taylor asked suddenly.

"What?" Nathan asked caught off guard. "Umh, yeah I hope she can." Nathan said while staring at Haley's pale face. Taylor looked at him for a while.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom and get some coffee. Do you want anything?" Taylor asked.

"No thanks, I'm good." He said without breaking her gaze from Haley. Taylor nodded and left. She didn't really want to leave Haley's side but she felt that Nathan needed a few minutes alone with Haley. Nathan heard the door close and he sighed. He was finally alone with her. But he didn't know what to say. He took Haley's hand in his own and was surprised to find it warm.

"Hi, Haley. It's me, Nathan." Nathan said and paused.

"Ok, that sounded stupid... I'm really bad at this, you know. Like telling someone how I feel and stuff. But you need to know how much you mean to me, Haley. You have no idea how much. I didn't know it either until it was too late." Nathan said and squeezed her hand a bit.

"Haley, you're the most important person in my life and I don't know what I'm gonna if-." Nathan stopped the sentence. He just couldn't finish it.

"And I know you're really mad at me. Right now you're probably thinking of different ways to kick my ass and you can do them all if you just wake up. Please, wake up." He said and looked at Haley half expecting for her to actually open her eyes. When he realized she wasn't waking up right then, tears came to his eyes.

"God Haley, you have no idea how sorry I am. It was never about the race for me. Never. If I could go back in time and never race, I would." He was so focused on trying to get her to open her eyes that he didn't hear the door open.

"Please open your eyes. I'm so sorry, Haley. So sorry."

"You should be!" Nathan turned to find an angry Lucas standing on the door way. He walked to the other side of the bed, opposite of Nathan. Brooke was behind him but her face was worried.

"How is she?" Brooke asked. She looked between Lucas and Nathan who were both glaring at each other. "Ok, I'm gonna go get some food for all of us. Don't kill each other." She said before disappearing. Nathan and Lucas were still glaring at each other.

"You should leave." Lucas finally said angrily.

"No chance in hell. I was here first so why don't you leave, _bro_." Nathan said the last word sarcastically.

"I'm about to kick your ass!" Lucas said angrily.

"Oh, bring it on!"

The door opened suddenly.

"What the hell's going on in here?" Nathan and Lucas turned to look at identical twins on the doorway.

"Chris! Brian!" Lucas said smiling. The twins glared at him and Nathan.

"So, you're Haley's brothers?" Nathan asked.

"Who the hell are you?" Brian asked from Nathan.

"I'm Nathan." He said. When nobody said nothing and glared at Nathan, he continued. "Nathan Scott." He said.

"So, you're the soon-to-be-dead-guy who dated our baby sister and then raced against her so she almost died?" Chris asked while taking a step towards Nathan and rolling his sleeves up.

"Well, it wasn't quite like that." Nathan said without moving.

"So, you didn't date her? And you didn't race her? And she's not in the hospital because of that race?" Brian asked while glaring at him. Lucas smiled a bit. He couldn't help but feel joy for the twins grilling Nathan. Chris turned to stare at Lucas.

"Why are you smiling, Scott? You're also on the black list."

"Huh?"

"Well, you did lie to her and betray her, didn't you." Brian said while taking a step towards Lucas. Right that moment Taylor came in.

"What the hell's going on in here?" she asked when she saw Lucas' and Nathan's faces. "Brian! Chris! Back off! I knew I shouldn't have told you anything." she said. The twins looked at Taylor, then at each other, then Haley and the Scott brothers.

"You both better leave before Matt gets here." Brian said. Lucas and Nathan left the room. Right when they were opening the door, Jake came through that.

"Hey, guys-" Jake got cut off by Lucas and Nathan turning him around and pushing him out of the room.

"What's going on?" Jake asked outside the room.

"The twins are back." Lucas said. Jake's face turned into a horrified look.

"What? But Matt's not here, right?"

"On his way." Lucas said while walking towards the elevator with his arm around Brooke.

"We gotta go." Jake said and started to drag Peyton towards the elevators also.

"Well, he can't be worse than Brian and Chris." Nathan said from behind Jake. Jake turned to look at him while waiting for the elevator.

"They don't call him 'Godfather' for nothing." Jake said.

"Did they ever find that one guy who slapped Haley's ass when she was shopping with her sisters?" Lucas asked.

"The rumour is that he and his family moved to Hawaii. What about that one guy who kissed her at homecoming last year?"

"Still in the hospital. Poor guy didn't know that Haley's brothers were chaperoning." Nathan looked at Lucas and Jake with a horrified look.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked.

"Yeah we are, but they do call him Godfather. And he has beaten up two guys because of Haley." Jake said.

"Great." Nathan mumbled while getting inside the elevator with the others. Lucas looked at him annoyed.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have lied to her." Lucas said harshly.

"Look who's talking." Nathan responded.

"I'm gonna come back here later. And I don't want you here." Lucas said.

"Well, I'm not gonna stop coming here either. I don't care what her brothers say. Or you for that matter." Nathan said harshly.

"I don't want you here!"

"I don't want you here either!"

"Why don't you share her?" Brooke said sarcastically. She was getting very much annoyed with them. Lucas and Nathan turned to look at her.

"That's a good idea." Nathan said.

"It's a great idea." Lucas said. "Ok, so I'll get the weekdays and you get the weekends."

"No way. You take the weekends."

"Hell no. Why don't I get the odd days, like today. And you'll get the even days, like tomorrow?" Lucas asked.

"So, I'll get her every other day?" Nathan asked making sure.

"Yeah."

"Today's the 25th?" Nathan asked making sure.

"Yeah. So today she's mine." Lucas said.

"Whatever. If I see you here on my day, I'm gonna beat you up." Nathan said.

"Same goes for you, _lil' brother_." Lucas said.

Lucas and Nathan glared at each other but didn't say anything. They elevator doors opened and they stepped out of it. Lucas pulled Brooke to the cafeteria with her while Nathan went to his car. Jake and Peyton went towards his car.

"Do you think they will ever make up?" Peyton asked.

"Not until Haley wakes up." Jake said and wrapped his arm around her.

"What if she doesn't?" Peyton whispered.

"Don't say that. Don't even think about that!" Jake said and opened his passenger side door to Peyton.

"I know but it's a possibility. What if she doesn't wake up?"

"If she doesn't wake up, I don't think Lucas and Nathan will ever forgive each other." Jake said.

"Or themselves."

------

So, how was it? Please review. I've still got one more chapter coming up before the epilogue. I've actually finished the story already but I still got to proof read and etc. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to review. ;)


	17. Chapter 15

Hey guys! I'm finally back with an update. This chapter is the last chapter before the final one, the Epilogue. Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews, keep them coming. :) Anyways, here's chapter 15, hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 15

7 days later.

It was Monday. It had been over a week since the accident. Haley had woken up at least 20 times. But only in Lucas', Nathan's, Taylor's and everyone else's dreams. In reality, she hadn't shown any signs of getting better.

Her twin brothers came the previous Monday. Matt, the oldest brother, showed up later the same day with Haley's parents who had been visiting him. Vivian and Quinn came late Monday night.

The whole week during the days someone from the family was always with Haley. Taylor made sure that there was a two-hour-period when there were no James brothers there so Nathan and Lucas could visit her without being interrupted, or beaten up, by Haley's brothers. Vivian, Quinn and Taylor didn't mind seeing Lucas and Nathan.

Nathan and Lucas had not talked to or seen each other since their fight and "even day - odd day" -agreement. If it was an odd day, Lucas skipped school and sat on the hospital's parking lot waiting for Taylor's call to give him the green light. And Nathan did the same waiting on even days.

Jake had been to the hospital usually with Lucas but he had never stayed too long feeling that Lucas needed his alone time with Haley. Tim sometimes went with Nathan but like Jake, he left soon.

Brooke and Peyton were the only people who had been able to visit Haley while his brothers had been there.

The doctors couldn't do anything at this point. They said it was all up to Haley. Some doctor had the nerve to mention that maybe Haley didn't want to wake up. And then Matt broke the vending machine in the waiting room.

Nathan was a mess. He didn't talk to anyone and he hadn't been to school at all. All day long he just played basketball in his backyard. Deb was gone, as usual, and Dan didn't care. In fact, he was more than happy that Nathan was taking all this time practising basketball. Dan knew about the accident, he heard some customers talking about it, but he hadn't mentioned anything to Nathan.

Tim had been visiting Nathan almost every day, taking him his homework and making sure he was ok. But unless Tim wouldn't play ball, he would get nothing out of Nathan. He didn't talk much. Just few words here and there.

Sunday was the last day of the month. The 31st. Since it was an odd day, it was Lucas' turn to visit Haley. On Monday, Nathan went to the hospital to see Haley. He opened the door and found Quinn sitting by her bed, reading soccer news to Haley. Taylor was talking on the phone with her boss and Vivian was painting Haley's toe nails with dark purple nail polish while blabbering about make up.

"...and Real Madrid played against Barcelona..."

"...yes, sir. I understand. But this is my sister we're talking about..."

"...always said that purple nail polish is the sexiest color..."

"...Raul scored and Beckham got two yellow cards so he's also missing the next game..."

"...well, I'm glad you understand. I will keep you updated. Thank you, sir..."

"...but then I told that skank how 80s her sky blue eye shadow was..."

Nathan smiled at the sight. All the three girls were around Haley's bed doing their own things. Even though they were doing completely different things, they didn't seem to bother each other. It looked like the most natural things in the world. Taylor hung up the phone and saw Nathan standing on the doorway.

"Nathan, hi!" she said happily.

"Hey, girls. I can come back later..." he said not wanting to disturb them.

"Oh, don't be silly. We were just about to go get something to eat anyways." Quinn said.

"We were?" Vivian asked without taking her eyes off of Haley's toes. Taylor elbowed her. Vivian's hand slipped.

"Hey! Now it's all messed up!" Vivian said looking at the toe that was now purple.

"Something tells me she won't mind." Taylor said and started to drag Vivian towards the door.

"But I haven't decorated her cast yet." She said before being pulled outside the room.

"Bye, Nathan. She's all yours." Quinn said and closed the door. Nathan went to sit next to Haley. He had been there so many times but he still found it hard to talk to her, knowing that she might never wake up.

"Hey, babe. I've missed talking to you." Nathan said quietly. "I brought you flowers again." He said and took the flowers from the vase and replaced them with the new ones.

"So, I was playing ball with Tim yesterday. You should've been there, it was so funny. Tim's a good player but whenever we're playing on our free time he just likes to joke around. Like yesterday he was making these funny moves and whenever he got the ball, he started to say stuff like 'Whatcha gonna do now, big boy. Yeah, you ready to lose?'" Nathan said mimicking Tim.

"But I knew he just wanted to make me laugh, you know. He's a good friend and in his own words 'a bit retard-ish'. Whitey, our basketball coach, called me yesterday. He said practise starts next week. I really wanna be there but I won't if you're not. So you better wake up soon." Nathan said laughing. He heard the door open and expected Taylor, Quinn or Vivian to be there, but to his surprise it was Lucas.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked angrily.

"Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing." Nathan said coldly.

"It's my turn to be here." Lucas said and went to stand next to Haley, opposite from Nathan.

"No, it's not. You were here yesterday so today is my turn." Nathan argued.

"Today is the 1st day. And number one is an odd number. So, it's my turn." Lucas said.

"You were here yesterday so today I am."

"The agreement was that I get odd days. Today's an odd day." Lucas said.

"No, the agreement was that I get her every other day. You were here yesterday so today I am." Nathan said.

"You're just waiting for someone to kick your ass, aren't you." Lucas asked angrily. Nathan turned to look at Haley.

"Yeah, her." Nathan said quietly. Lucas was about to say something nasty back but he happened to look at Haley and all mean thoughts disappeared.

"Yeah, she would kick your ass." Lucas said quietly while looking at Haley. He took a hold of Haley's hand.

"Yours too, man. Don't even try to deny it." Nathan said smiling while holding her other hand.

"Oh, I'm not denying it. She's actually done it already." Lucas said and continued with the story. "We were 10 years old and she was mad at me for making fun of her pet bunny's name." Lucas said smiling at the memory. "She called me mean and I called her stupid for naming her bunny that. And then she pushed me to the river." Lucas said smiling.

"She pushed you to the river?" Nathan asked laughing.

"Yeah, why do you think we're always playing at River court? Good memories..." Lucas said and looked at Nathan. "How long have you known her? You never hung out with her during her period, right." Lucas said suddenly. Nathan looked at him with a weird look on his face.

"I'm not sure, it's not like we talk about it. Where did that come from?" Nathan asked with a weird voice. It was a weird question, after all.

"Oh, if you had you would have known." Lucas said. Nathan raised his eyebrows in question. "She gets moody." Lucas said.

"Moody? That doesn't sound so ba-"

"Few years ago, she threatened to hit me with a golf club if I didn't give her the rest of my brownie."

"But she didn't hit you?"

"No, she didn't." Lucas said and shuddered while remembering the painful memory. "But she drove over my left foot with a golf cart."

"What!"

"Yeah, and just ask Jake how he has gotten that scar above his eyebrow."

"Do I wanna know?" Nathan mumbled.

"She threw an ashtray at him."

"Whoa! An ashtray?" Nathan asked and looked at the peaceful girl in front of him.

"Yeah, be glad she hasn't got a chance to get violent with you." Lucas said.

"Yeah, I guess I'm lucky." Nathan said.

"But don't get used to it. As your half-brother, I feel like I should warn you about _them_." Lucas said and shuddered.

"Who?" Nathan asked.

"The people who taught her everything from self defence to the best basketball tricks." Lucas said and paused to look at him. "Her brothers." Nathan nodded at him.

"Yeah, they're scary. They almost ripped my eyes off when they heard my name, remember?" Nathan said.

"Yeah, same with me. And I never even dated Haley and still they look at me like I'm gonna steal her innocence and elope with her. I swear to god, ever since I've known Haley they've only thought the worst off me." Lucas said. "I was so happy when they went to college."

"Yeah, I bet. But I can't blame them for trying to protect Haley. I'd do anything for her and I haven't even known her for that long." Nathan said. Lucas looked at him surprised for the honesty.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Lucas said.

"For them we'll always be 'the others'." Nathan said.

"Yeah, and they will be always be 'the others' to us." Lucas said.

"The others on 'Lost' got nothing on the James brothers!" Nathan said. They both burst out laughing.

"Good show, by the way." Nathan said after quieting down.

"Yeah, Haley was working at the café and almost dropped her tray full of plates when I told her that I've never watched a single episode."

"Dude! That's like against the law or something."

"That's what she said. Anyways, next day when I went over to her house, she locked us in the basement with nothing but Lost –season 1 DVD set, a gallon of ice tea and 5 bags of chips." Lucas said smiling. "18 hours later I was hooked on the show."

"You watched all the episodes?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, she loves to have movie marathons or TV-marathons. She always buys these dvd-sets. Like this summer we watched '24' season 1 in one sitting."

"That's crazy." Nathan said laughing.

"Yeah but funny. After staring at the TV and the same show for 18 hours straight you're so into it that when it ends you kinda feel empty inside." Lucas said smiling. "So then we usually get wasted." They both laughed at that. "You should join us next time."

"Yeah, definitely." Nathan said. "Yeah, season 1 was the best."

"Totally. Nina Myers turning up to be the mole? I did not see that coming."

"So, you like Lost too?"

"Yeah, it's the best show."

"Totally, who's your favorite character on Lost?" Nathan said.

"Hurley. Yours?"

"I think Sawyer. He's a badass _and_ funny." Nathan said and then smiled. "Kind of like me." Lucas laughed.

"Well, you're definitely funny." Lucas said smiling. Nathan looked at him with mock hurt.

"Hey, I can be a badass!"

"Sure you can." Lucas said laughing. "Just like you can try to convince me that it's not you who changes Haley's flowers every time you come here." Lucas said softly.

"She deserves them."

"Yes, she does."

"Hey, what was Haley's bunny's name?" Nathan asked.

"Bunny." Lucas said.

"Yeah, what was the bunny's name?" Nathan asked again not realizing that 'Bunny' was the name.

"No, Bunny was the bunny's name." Lucas said.

"She named her bunny 'Bunny'?" Nathan asked. "That's stupid."

"That's what I said!" Lucas said.

"Haley, if you wake up now I will let you push me to the river." Nathan said and they both laughed.

Suddenly they both felt something. Something they had been hoping for over a week now. Haley had just squeezed their hands lightly.

"Did you feel that?" Lucas whispered while looking at Haley.

"Yeah, I did." Nathan said while staring at her. Haley opened her eyes slowly and she smiled a little.

"Hey." She said quietly. Her voice was a whisper. After not talking for a week, it was expected. Haley looked at the cupboard next to Nathan. Nathan followed her gaze.

"You want some water?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded her head a bit. Nathan took the glass of water and held it to Haley. He then realized that she couldn't drink herself so he held the glass to her lips and poured some water in her mouth. Haley licked her lips and looked at the guys.

Nathan and Lucas had never been more nervous. Would Haley be still angry? Haley looked at the guys smiling. Then her smile suddenly faded and she looked at them confused. She cleared her throat a little.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly a few seconds later. Lucas and Nathan felt their hearts miss a beat. Nathan and Lucas were still staring at Haley their mouths open in shock. Haley looked at them confused but then smiled.

"Kidding." She said. Nathan and Lucas glared at her. "God, you Scotts have no sense of humor." She said smiling. "I wonder who you got that from." She muttered.

"So, you just wanted to torture us by pretending amnesia?" Lucas asked.

"Pretty much." She said. "So, how you guys doing?" Haley asked like it was no big deal.

"That's the first thing you wanna know?" Lucas asked.

"Well, obviously I can't be doing too well since I'm lying here with apparently a broken leg and the biggest migraine in the history of world so I'm asking, how are _you_ doing?" Haley asked while looking at both of them. Lucas and Nathan looked at each other and then Haley again.

"We're good." Lucas said.

"Now, that you're awake." Nathan specified. "Does your head really hurt that much? Do you want us to get you a nurse?" Nathan asked.

"No, just stay here a while. What did I miss while being out?" Haley asked.

"Nothing. Well, it's been over a week since the accident. It's Monday now, by the way. Your whole family is here." Nathan said.

"Who's here?" Haley asked.

"Everyone. Taylor's been here every day. The twins, Matt and your parents came last Monday morning. Vivian and Quinn came later the same day. They're all here."

"I knew that you needed a crisis to get this family together." Haley said. "Wait, the twins and Matt are here?" Haley asked. "And they let you come here?"

"Well, they don't actually know that we've been coming here. Your sisters have taken care of that." Nathan said.

"Haley, I know you're still probably mad but I really want to explain." Lucas said. "I never wanted to hurt you, just protect you. That's why I didn't tell you about Brooke and that's why I was so hard on you about Nathan. I was an idiot and I'm sorry." Lucas said.

"Lucas, I'm not mad at anyone." Haley said smiling a bit. "Almost dying really makes a person get some perspective. And staying mad for the rest of my life is not something I'm willing to do."

"So, we can be friends?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know. You still lied to me and all. Let's just take it slow and see where it goes, alright?"

"But, we're cool?" Lucas asked wanting to be sure. Haley smiled a bit.

"Yeah, we're cool. We'll see how it goes and all." Haley said.

Lucas smiled and hugged her carefully. Lucas looked at Nathan and realized he probably needed to have the same talk with her.

"I'm gonna go get your sisters. They would want to see you." Lucas said and got up. Nathan stayed next to her still holding her hand. Haley watched Lucas leave and then turned to look at Nathan.

"So, how's school Nathan?"

"Actually I haven't really been there for a while." He said.

"Oh." Haley just said. Nathan played with the ring on his thumb.

"Haley, I need to know how you feel about us. I need to know where we stand." Nathan said quietly.

"Nathan, I honestly don't know. I'm not angry at anyone but I can't think about this now. But, like Lucas and I, we're cool too." Haley said.

"So, can I still visit you? Talk to you?" Nathan asked.

"You better!" Haley said smiling. "I'm not gonna be stuck in this hospital alone. I'd probably die of boredom before the first meal." Haley said smiling. Nathan smiled in relief.

"I'm really glad you're awake, Hales." Nathan said. Haley smiled back.

"Yeah, me too. It was time to wake up." She said but then hit his arm hard.

"Ouch! What was that for?" he asked confused.

"For making fun of Bunny the bunny." She said. "Just be glad that I'm not throwing you to the river."

"And why's that?"

"Cause you would most likely pull me with you." She said remembering Nathan's beach party where they ended up in the freezing water.

"True." Nathan said smiling. He looked at Haley. "It's good to see you awake."

"It's good to be awake. Although I may wanna get back to sleep soon."

"Why? You tired?"

"No but when Taylor comes through that door with Quinn and Vivian, they are gonna be so hysterical that it'll take hours to calm them down." Haley said smiling. Right that moment the door flew open and Taylor ran inside. Quinn, Vivian and Lucas were right behind her.

"Haley!" she yelled and ran to her and started to hug her. Vivian and Quinn followed her lead.

"Oh my god, we were so worried!"

"Are you hurting?"

"Do you remember everything?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Tired?"

"Thirsty?" After about 5 minutes of asking questions from Haley without giving her a chance to answer, Nathan and Lucas decided to leave the sisters by themselves. They waived Haley goodbye and laughed at the panicked look on her face. They just smiled at her and told her they'd come back later.

Later that same day Nathan and Lucas called the whole gang and told them about Haley's recovery. When Nathan, Lucas, Tim and Brooke, who had shared the same ride, got to Haley's room they immediately got 3 mean glares from the brothers.

"Matt, Chris, Brian." Haley said when she saw that the brothers were planning on throwing Nathan and Lucas out of the room. "Sit back." She said calmly. The brothers looked at Haley and then each other and then went back to sit on the couch.

"Come on in. Take a seat..." Haley said and looked around. Her parents were sitting on the chairs, her brothers on the couch and sisters on the bed. "...or not." Haley finished. The same moment Jake and Peyton, who was holding Jenny, got in too.

"Hey Hales." Jake said and then nodded to the rest of the family.

"Hey guys." Haley said happy that they were back together.

"Someone missed you very much." Peyton said and went to give Jenny to her.

"Jenny!" Haley said happily when she saw her. Peyton gave Jenny carefully to her.

"And we missed you too." Peyton said smiling. Haley smiled back at her.

At that moment the door opened again. This time it was Fergie, Skills, Mouth and Junk.

"Whoa." Skills said when he saw all the people in the room.

"Haley's so popular." Brooke said laughing. Right that moment the doctor came in.

"What's going on in here? It's not even visiting hours and even if it were, there should only be two persons at a time." The doctor said angrily while trying to make his way over to her bed.

"Ok, everyone except the family out!" he finally said. Haley gave Jenny back to Peyton. Haley's friends left the room unhappy. When the family didn't move, the doctor looked at the girls on the bed and the guys on couch.

"I said everyone except family out."

"We _are_ her family." Matt said coldly. The doctor looked around.

"Seven kids? You've been busy." The doctor said while looking at the parents.

"Yes, you said you needed to talk to us about something." Haley's mother said dryly.

"Oh yes. As you know, Haley's left foot is broken but we've already casted it. She had two broken ribs but they are healing surprisingly fast." He said.

"What about my foot? Can I play soccer?" Haley asked worrying.

"Your foot will never be the same. There will always be the risk that it might break again if the pressure's strong enough but after some physiotherapy you should be able to play." The doctor said. Haley smiled at that.

"When can I go home?" Haley asked.

"Tomorrow morning if you feel you're up for it."

"Yeah, totally. I just wanna go home." Haley said.

"Well, tomorrow morning you can do it. I recommend 3 to 5 days rest before going back to school though." The doctor said and left.

Haley tried to muffle her yawn but couldn't. Matt got up from the couch.

"Alright, that's it. Now everyone out. Haley needs her rest." Matt said and started to move everyone out of the room.

"No, really guys! You don't have to go. I'm not tired." Haley said while yawning again.

"Sleep tight, sis. We'll pick you up in the morning." Chris said and closed the door after winking at her. Haley stared at the room that had just few minutes ago been filled with people. Now she was the only one there. Haley looked around but suddenly her gaze stopped when she saw something purple at the end of her bed.

"What the hell happened to my toe?"

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So, how was it? Let me know what you think. :) I'll post the Epilogue by the end of the week

-Fes-


	18. Epilogue

Ladies and gentlemen, tytöt ja pojat, boys and girls, we're finally here. The Epilogue of TFatF. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please, leave me your final review of the story. Cheers.

Epilogue

"Home Sweet Home." Haley said as she stepped in her house. It was Tuesday morning and her family had just picked her up from the hospital. After her family had left the previous day from the hospital, she had instantly fallen asleep. When she woke up in the morning she noticed that the flowers on her nightstand had been changed during her sleep. Again.

"Haley, you hungry?" her mother yelled from the kitchen. Haley made her way towards the kitchen with the crutches.

"Yeah." She said when she got there. Her mother turned to look at her.

"Honey, what are you doing standing there? Go lie on your bed." Her mother ordered.

"Mom, I've done nothing but lie on a bed for over a week now. I need fresh air." Haley complained.

"Then open your window."

"Mom-"

"Haley, the doctor said you need at least 3 days of rest."

"You can't expect me to stay in my room for three days straight." Haley argued.

"Of course not, honey." Lydia said and smiled while making her a sandwich. "You may use the bathroom."

"Very funny." She said. "Fine, I'll stay home for three days but I'm inviting friends here."

"Which friends?" Matt asked as he, Brian and Chris came to the kitchen. Haley smiled at Matt.

"Well, Peyton and Brooke." Haley said. The guys smiled at that. But their smile faded when Haley continued. "And Lucas and Nathan and Jake."

"Haley..." Brian warned while Lydia handed the sandwich to Haley.

"Oh, and let's not forget the guys from River court: Mouth, Skills, Fergie and Junk." Haley said and took a big bite from the sandwich.

"Mom, if you want me to stay home for three days, you make sure that the twins and Matt stay away from my friends." Haley said to her mom. "From all of my friends." The boys looked at their mom expecting her to disagree.

"Deal." She said smiling.

"Mom!" the boys whined at the same time.

"Boys, you will leave Haley's friends, especially Nathan and Lucas, alone. You understand?"

"Yeah..." they mumbled not liking the idea at all.

"Fantastic. Now, carry her upstairs." Her mom ordered.

"What?" they asked confused.

"Do you want her to walk the stairs by herself with her crutches and then fall down and break her other leg and stay home even longer? No? Then carry her upstairs!" she ordered. The guys lifted a grinning Haley and started to walk towards the stairs. They carried her to her room.

"Oh, I could definitely get used to this." She said grinning. Her brothers lowered her down on her bed.

"Oh, stop grinning, will ya." Brian said a bit irritated. Haley just laughed at that. The guys started to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" Haley asked.

"We're gonna play ball in the backyard. Too bad you can't leave your room." Chris said laughing.

"What am I supposed to do here?" Haley asked. Her brothers just smiled. "You guys suck!" Haley looked around the quiet room. She hated quietness. "Taylor!" Haley yelled as loud as she could. Soon Taylor opened the door.

"Yea, what's up?"

"I'm bored." Haley said.

"Already?" Haley just nodded. "What do you wanna do?"

"I don't know. Just entertain me." Haley said.

"Well, you wanna play cards?" Taylor asked when she saw the deck of cards on Haley's table.

"Yeah, totally." She said. "Viv! Quinn! Come here!" Haley yelled.

"What's up?" Quinn asked when she got to the room.

"Let's play cards." Taylor said excited.

"Cards? I'm in." Vivian said from behind Quinn.

"Alright. Let's play poker." Haley said.

"We playing for money?" Quinn asked.

"Do birds fly? Of course we're playing for money, stupid." Vivian said while shuffling the cards.

"Well actually there is one bird that doesn't fly, _stupid_." Quinn said irritated.

"Q, no one cares!" Taylor said laughing.

"Penguins." Haley said. Vivian and Taylor looked at her like she was crazy.

"Did you just call me a penguin? Do I look fat? 'Cause I looked hot on that white dress, don't even try to-"

"Tay, chill. I just meant that penguin is a bird and they don't fly." Taylor said. Quinn smiled at her and Vivian and Taylor looked bored.

"Whatever. Let's play." Vivian said and delt the cards.

--------

"Full House, baby!" Quinn yelled few hours later while throwing her cards on the floor so everyone could see. She started to collect the quarters. Vivian put her hand on top of Quinn's to stop her.

"Not so fast." Vivian said grinning. She showed her cards to the others. "Royal Flush!" she screamed happily and took the quarters from a very sullen looking Quinn.

"I don't like this game anymore." Quinn said.

"That's because you've lost over 20 bucks." Haley said laughing. Suddenly Taylor got up and ran out of the room. The other sisters looked at each other with weird looks on their faces. Taylor came back a few minutes later holding something in her hand. She stood in front of the girls while grinning madly.

"Tay? Why are you grinning?" Vivian asked when Taylor didn't say anything.

"You all owe me 25 bucks!" she yelled and showed them the digital camera that had a picture of Haley standing next to Nathan on the night of the Weast. And she was wearing a dress.

"Oh my god." Vivian and Quinn said at the same time while looking at the picture.

"Did you photoshop this?" Quinn asked with narrowed eyes. "You know, Haley's face to someone else's body?"

"You wish." Taylor said laughing.

"Haley, you look very beautiful." Vivian said.

"I agree." Quinn said.

"Thanks girls." Haley said blushing a bit. Taylor snatched the camera from their hands.

"Alright, ladies. Cash out." She said and grinned when Quinn and Vivian gave her 25 dollars. Their mom came to the door.

"Haley, Nathan's here. You feel like seeing him?"

"Yeah, of course." Haley said. Vivian, Quinn and Taylor looked at each other and got up from the floor at the same time.

"You don't have to go." Haley said even though she didn't mean it.

"Yeah, right." Taylor said and winked. "Mom, wait up! Check out this picture!" Taylor said while closing the door. Haley started to get up from the floor but it seemed to be harder to do than she imagined. She was in the middle of trying to pull herself on her bed when Nathan walked in.

"Need some help?" he asked but didn't wait for answer. He picked her up from the floor and laid her down on her bed.

"Thanks. So, what's up?" Haley asked while patting the bed for Nathan to sit there.

"Not much. I went to school today." Nathan said. Haley looked at him surprised.

"You did? That's really good, Nathan." Haley said smiling. Right that moment Nathan's own cell phone started to ring.

"What's up, Tim... I'm at Haley's..." Nathan put his hand on top of the speaker and looked at Haley. "He wants to come here." Haley nodded her head in approval and Nathan spoke to Tim again. "Yeah, sure. You can come... You know where she lives?... See you soon." Nathan said and closed the phone.

"So, you went to school today?" Haley asked again. Nathan took Haley's cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"I just went to get this from Mrs. White. She wanted to remind us to do our homework before we return to school." Nathan said.

"Oh god, school. I'm so behind in every class." Haley said stressing out.

"Me too. But we can study together. Just like old times." Nathan said smiling. Haley smiled back. _Maybe it won't be so bad, after all._ She thought.

"Just like old times." Haley said too. Haley saw the cards on the floor. "Hey, you wanna play some poker?" Nathan took the cards from the floor.

"Sure." He said and shuffled the cards before dealing them. They had played few games when they heard a knock on the door. Haley's mom opened the door.

"Sorry to interrupt kids but Lucas and Brooke are here."

"Yeah, that's cool. Let them in." Haley said. Lucas and Brooke came in.

"Hales, how you feeling?" Lucas asked while hugging her.

"I'm good. Mad that I'm stuck in this room for the next three days." Haley said.

"Why?" Brooke asked confused.

"Doctor's orders were 3 to 5 days rest. I'm surprised I managed to get mom to settle for the three."

"Well, at least you'll have time to do your homework." Lucas said.

"Yeah, I guess." Haley said.

"We called Jake and Peyton on our way. They should be here any minute." Lucas said.

"Good. You guys didn't have to come here though. It's not like there's anything to do here." Haley said.

"Aw, we don't care." Lucas said. "We can always watch a movie."

"Do you want me to call Peyton and tell her to rent a movie?" Brooke asked. Lucas smiled and got up from Haley's bed. He opened a door that Brooke and Nathan thought was the door to her closet, but it was filled with DVD's and videos.

"Oh my god." Brooke said and started to go through the movies there. "How many movies do you have? 200?"

"257." Lucas said without thinking. Everyone but Haley looked at him with a weird face.

"He likes to count them and alphabetize them when he's bored." Haley said smiling. Brooke turned to look at Lucas while laughing before turning back to check out Haley's movie collection.

"I love 'Stand by Me'... And you have McGyver season 1. And Laguna Beach! You are officially my favorite girlfriend." Brooke said and turned back to the dvd's.

"So, you've ditched me?" Peyton faked hurt from the doorway. She and Jake were standing there with Tim behind them.

"Haley, so good to see." Jake said and hugged her fiercely. He took a step back and looked at her with a guilty face.

"We gotta talk, Hales. I'm so sorry I yelled at you and said it was all your fault when in reality I was the one to blame. It wasn't your fault and I'm so sorry to make you feel like it was-"

"Jake, stop." Haley said smiling. "It's ok. It was kinda my fault how it got out but I hope you don't regret it." Jake looked at Peyton who was smiling at him.

"Absolutely not."

"So, Tim. Good to see you too." Haley said and turned to watch him. Tim looked at Haley but as soon as their eyes met, he looked at the floor.

"Yeah, good to see you too." He mumbled. Haley raised her eyebrows and looked at Jake.

"We found your brothers talking to Tim when we got here." Jake said smiling. Nathan gasped in horror.

"Tim, listen to me." Haley started. "They were just messing with you. They will not kill you if you look at me, alright?" Haley said in a gentle tone. It was like she was talking to a child. And in a way, she was.

"You sure?" Tim asked and looked at Haley briefly.

"Yes, I'm sure." She said.

"Good." He said and sighed in relief. Nathan patted him on the shoulder.

"I know the feeling buddy."

"Brooke, found anything you wanna watch?" Haley asked. Brooke turned to look at them with a huge grin on her face.

"B. Davis? Whatcha got there?" Peyton asked with narrowed eyes.

"Desperate housewives, season 1." Brooke said. The girls and surprisingly also Tim cheered, while Jake, Nathan and Lucas groaned.

"Hey, you can always leave if you don't like the show." Brooke said while putting the dvd on the Haley's player and turning the tv on.

"Yeah, we've got Tim." Haley said grinning. Jake, Lucas and Nathan sighed and took a seat from Haley's room.

The first episode of Desperate Housewives started.

"How the hell did I get myself into this situation?" Nathan mumbled.

"Word." Jake and Lucas said at the same time.

"Shhh!" Brooke shhh-ed them.

Few seconds later.

"Whoa! Did she just shoot herself?" Lucas asked in amazement.

"Yeah." Tim said like it was the most obvious thing.

"How come I haven't watched this show before?" Jake asked.

"Because you never listen to me. Now shut your pie holes." She said and turned her attention back to the screen.

The seven of them spend most of the next three days with Haley. They spend their nights at home, but only because Haley's mom thought that Haley needed her rest. They went to school in the morning but right after that they came to Haley's to watch movies, play cards and help her with her homework. Not that she needed any help. In fact, it usually ended up with Haley helping them with their homework. They usually stayed at Haley's till about midnight when they went to sleep in their own homes. Haley loved the company but she was starting to feel like she didn't have any alone time. Alone time with Nathan.

It was Friday morning and it was Haley's first day of school after her accident. She had done all the homework she had missed and she was ready to go to school again. The whole gang came to the house in the morning. All morning she tried to get a few seconds alone with Nathan but someone was always there to interrupt. Luckily she was able to get Tim to ride with Jake so she could be alone with Nathan.

"So, Hales. You ready for your first day?" Lucas asked. They were sitting on the porch waiting for the rest of the gang to finish their breakfast and come outside.

"It's not exactly my first day. I've only been gone less than two weeks." Haley said.

"I gotta warn you, Hales. Tree Hill High is a small school and half of the students actually saw your crash. They will talk about it." Lucas said.

"I think I can handle it." Haley said and smiled. "And if not I'm just gonna beat them with my crutches." She said waving them in the air.

"I have no doubt about it." Lucas said and looked at Haley who was still waving the crutches in the air probably thinking of different ways to hit people with them.

"I'm glad you're ok, Hales."

"Me too, Luke. Me too." The door opened and the rest of the gang came outside.

"See you at school, Hales." Jake said while he, Peyton and Tim went to Jake's car.

"Luke, let's go. We still gotta go to my house and get my books." Brooke said. She turned to look at Haley. "See you later."

"Bye Brooke. Luke." Haley said and started to get up from the porch floor. She was about to take the first step when Nathan stopped her.

"What?" Haley asked confused. Nathan turned his back on her and lowered down a bit.

"Hop on." He said.

"What?" Haley asked laughing.

"Hop on."

"You want to give me a piggyback ride?" Haley asked grinning.

"Yeah, hop on." Haley rolled her eyes, took her crutches and started to slowly walk towards his car.

"I'm not gonna hop on your back." She said laughing. Nathan looked at her for a second, shrugged his shoulders and threw her over his shoulder while making sure he didn't hurt her broken leg.

"Nathan, let me down!" Haley yelled laughing while hitting his back. Nathan looked at her ass on his shoulder.

"Nice view." He said laughing.

"Nathan!" she said and hit his back some more.

"Haley!" Nathan mimicked her voice and laughed.

"Nathan! Put me down." Haley giggled. Nathan opened the front door of his car.

"Sure, whatever you say babe." He said and lowered her down to the car and put her stuff on the back seat. Haley sat on the seat and waited for Nathan to walk to his side of the car.

"So, you thought that was fun?" Haley asked and smiled a little when Nathan turned the engine on and started to drive towards the school.

"Yes, I did." He said remembering Haley's ass on his shoulder. He looked at Haley for a second and smiled before turning his eyes back on the road.

Haley looked at Nathan at the corner of her eyes. He was wearing a black wife beater with some shorts. Haley couldn't help but notice how muscular and tanned his arms looked. She looked to her right and saw that they were about to drive by River court. Haley licked her lips and turned to look at Nathan fully.

"Pull up." She said calmly without taking her eyes off of him. Nathan looked at her on confusion.

"What?"

"Pull up. Park the car." She said and grinned.

"Ok..." he said and turned right and drove next to the basketball court. He parked the car close to the water and turned to look at her. The look on her face was a mixture of happiness, cunningness and... was that lust?

"So, what's-" Nathan got cut off by Haley's lips. With a cat-like move, Haley had jumped on Nathan's lap (yes, with a broken bone, don't ask how) and started to kiss him fiercely. Nathan automatically wrapped his arms around her.

"Whoa... whoa!... what are you!...oh... so good..." Nathan mumbled between kisses. When Haley moved the kissing to his neck, he was able to talk.

"Haley, what are you doing?" Nathan mumbled with his eyes closed. Haley stopped kissing him but didn't move from her position. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at him in the eyes.

"These past few days I've had a lot of time to think. About us." Haley said.

"And...?" Nathan asked.

"And like I said to Lucas, I think that staying mad forever is no fun. And I wanna have fun." Haley said and smiled that cunning smile.

"Ok, so are we like back together or...?" Nathan asked.

"We only get one life, Nathan." Haley said and smiled a genuine smile. "And I want you in it." Haley said and gave him a small, sweet kiss on the lips. Nathan returned it.

"That's a yes, by the way." Haley said grinning when she ended the kiss.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me." Nathan said and smiled widely. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Why don't you just show me how happy you are?" Haley said grinning. She licked his earlobe lightly and grinned when she felt Nathan shiver a little bit and tighten his hold on her. Haley started to pull his shirt over his head.

"You serious about this?" Nathan asked when he noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt anymore.

"Yeah." She said simply and smiled while continuing to kiss him.

"But school's starting in a minute. And we're in a car. At River court." Nathan said trying to make some sense to Haley. He wanted to be with Haley but he just wanted to be sure that she was.

"We're in a deserted basketball court in an SUV which means there's a fuck-friendly backseat not to even mention tinted windows and I really don't care about missing first period." Haley said while slowly taking her shirt off, revealing her black bra.

"Wait, why am I against this?" Nathan asked mostly from himself while staring at Haley's shirtless body on top of him. Haley laughed and shrugged her shoulders. Nathan grabbed her waist and smoothly moved them to the backseat.

About an hour later an SUV with tinted windows stopped at the Tree Hill High parking lot. Two persons, a guy and a girl, came out. The girl leaned on the car and put her messy hair up in a bun. The guy adjusted his shirt and belt and took both of their stuff so the girl didn't have any extra weight on her broken leg. They started walking towards the school. As soon as they opened the main doors of the school, the bell which signaled the end of first period, rang.

The whole student body watched as Nathan Scott and Haley James made their way towards her locker. It was the first time either of them had been seen after the infamous accident. They watched as Haley opened her locker, put a bunch of books in her locker that Nathan had been holding and took a few out. Haley slammed the locker shut and kissed Nathan hungrily who was more than willing to respond. They saw Nathan lean on Haley so her back was against the lockers and Haley's hand creep up his shirt.

Who knows how far they would have gone if their friends hadn't stopped them.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lucas asked a bit annoyed. Sure, he was ok with Nathan now but it didn't mean he wanted to see him practically have sex in the middle of the corridor with his best friend.

"PDA much?" Brooke asked laughing while casting a warning glance to Lucas' direction. She didn't want Lucas to start a fight. Nathan and Haley snapped out of their own little worlds and turned to look at an annoyed Lucas and a grinning Brooke.

"Oh, hey guys." Haley said. Brooke looked at Haley's shirt and laughed.

"Hi Haley. And the James twins." Brooke laughed and pointed at Haley's cleavage. Apparently her top had fallen a bit and she was showing a lot of cleavage.

"My eyes! I'm going blind!" Lucas said while holding his hand over his eyes. Haley was like the little sister he never had and he definitely didn't wanna know anything about her sex life.

"Oh, grow up Luke." Haley said laughing while letting Nathan adjust her shirt. "It's not like I said anything when I walked in on you making out with that Molly girl last year."

"Who's Molly and more importantly is she hotter than me? No wait, _richer_ than me?" Brooke asked grinning.

"We both have an open hour now, right? Why don't we talk about it over a cup of coffee at the caféteria?" Haley said grinning. Brooke linked her arm with Haley's.

"Sure, I have a bunch of stories about Nathan too." Brooke said smiling. She tiptoed to give Lucas a kiss.

"See you at lunch." She said. Haley gave Nathan a quick kiss too.

"And the same goes for you." Haley said before leaving with Brooke. Lucas and Nathan looked at the two girls who made their way through the crowded hall.

"This can't be good." Nathan muttered.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Lucas said trying to think of all the embarrassing stories Haley might tell Brooke. Nathan and Lucas started to walk towards their lockers.

"So, you and Haley are together again?" Lucas asked while opening his locker. Nathan did the same to his.

"Yeah, you got a problem?" Nathan asked.

"No but you should know that if you hurt her, she won't be the only one with a broken leg." Lucas said.

"Gotcha." Nathan said and took his physics book out.

"I'm serious, Nathan. Haley's like my little sister. Don't mess with her." Lucas said.

"Don't worry." Nathan said and slammed his locker shut. "See you at lunch."

"Yeah, you too." Lucas said and went to his class.

-------------

It was the end of the school day. As Lucas and Nathan had feared, Brooke and Haley had told all the embarrassing stories about the guys to each other. Peyton had joined them and together they had come up with the master (or monster, like the guys said) idea of tripple date. Jake, Nathan and Lucas had been against the idea, saying it was the second most stupid thing ever, after naming a pet bunny Bunny. Haley had hit them with her crutches.

They decided to do the classical dinner and a movie –date, with the guys paying everything, of course. Nathan drove Haley home, after a quick stop by the River court.

Haley got home and was surprised too see the whole familly sitting in the living room.

"What's going on?" Haley asked when she got to the living room.

"Please, sit down. We need to talk." Her mother said. Haley took a seat next to Matt on the couch.

"Who died?" Haley asked joking.

"You almost did." Lydia said. Haley looked down at her foot that had the cast. It was a constant reminder of the accident.

"I know." Haley said and sighed.

"Your mother and I have decided that from now on, we will stay home with you." Jimmy said. Haley looked up with a hopeful look.

"Really?"

"Yes, and if for some reason we can't be here, one of you sisters or brothers will." Lydia said. Haley looked at them.

"I appreciate this but I don't need a babysitter." Haley said. She wanted more than anything to have her parents home but she didn't want them to feel like they had no choice.

"We know that, honey. We realized that we have been unfair to you. It is not alright that we leave you on your own. We know that you can take care of yourself and you're more mature than most of your sisters." Lydia said while looking at Vivian and Taylor.

"Hey!" they said in annoyance.

"You don't have to worry about us leaving you alone. We're not going anywhere." Jimmy said. Haley smiled widely.

"Thank you." Haley said.

"There's something else we wanna tell you." Matt said.

"What is it?"

"We gotta leave." Quinn said with a sad face.

"To your homes?" Haley asked.

"Yeah. But we would stay longer if we could." Vivian said.

"I know and I understand." Haley said smiling. "When are you leaving?"

"Tonight." Taylor said and looked down.

"Ok." Haley said.

"Haley, we don't wanna go but-"

"It's ok, I understand. Besides, it's not that long till Christmas." Haley said smiling.

"True." Taylor said. "So, why don't we all promise that we're gonna spend Christmas here?" Quinn said.

"Sounds good." Vivian said. Taylor nodded and the twins and Matt agreed too.

"So, anything else?" Haley asked smiling.

"No, that's it honey." Lydia said smiling.

cough "Curfew!" cough Brian coughed. Haley turned to look at him.

"Did you just _curfew_-cough me?" Haley asked.

"Mom, Haley needs a curfew." Chris said.

"What? Why?" Haley asked.

"We don't want you hanging out all night long with that friend of yours, Nathan." Brian said.

"Boyfriend." Haley corrected.

"What?" Brian and Chris said at the same time.

"Nathan and I are back together. He's picking me up in about an hour, actually. And if any of you make him feel uncomfortable in any way, I will never speak to you again." Haley said smiling sweetly.

"Where is he taking you?" Matt asked calmly in a very Godfather-like voice.

"We're gonna have dinner and watch a movie with Brooke, Lucas, Jake and Peyton." Haley said.

"A tripple date?" Quinn asked smiling.

"Yep."

"And the guys are paying for everything?" Vivian asked.

"Naturally."

"What are you wearing?" Taylor asked.

"Tay, I'm not having this discussion with you." Haley said and got up from the couch.

"Where are you going?" Brian asked.

"Upstairs." She said. "You gonna carry me or what?" she asked grinning. The twins and Matt got up from the couch and carried her to her bedroom. The girls followed them. Lydia and Jimmy stayed in the living room.

"Do you think we should set up a curfew for Haley?" Jimmy asked.

"No, she's a mature girl. We didn't set up a curfew for any of the other kids and they turned out just fine." Lydia said. "I can't believe our youngest one is so big already."

"Don't you just miss the time when they were still unable to walk?" Jimmy asked.

"Or talk back." Lydia said. "I do miss that."

"What do you say we go and try to have another?" Jimmy said and winked.

"Very unlike to happen." Lydia said. "But we can always try."

--------

"Mom and dad still in the basement?" Quinn asked when Matt and Vivian came back to Haley's room after getting them all something to drink from downstairs.

"Yep." Vivian said and shuddered. Matt gave Haley her glass of ice tea and sat down next to her bed.

"So, Matt. How's Sheila?" Taylor asked.

"She's good." Matt said smiling.

"Any chance on setting up a date for the wedding, let's say, before the end of the year?" Taylor asked and looked at Haley. They had made a bet which one would get married first, Matt or Quinn.

"So, Quinn! You and Brandon doing ok? Still engaged? Getting married soon?" Haley asked. Quinn turned to look at Matt with a quizzical look on her face. Matt just shrugged his shoulders.

"What's going on?" Quinn asked.

"Nothing, we just wanna know which one gets married first." Taylor said.

"No one is getting married." Matt said smiling.

"Damn." Haley said laughing. She looked at the clock on the wall.

"Shit, Nathan's coming any minute. Gotta get ready." Haley said and started to get up from the bed.

"Just sit back and we'll clothe you." Taylor said and grinned. Haley rolled her eyes but leaned back on the pillow.

"Ok, guys out!" Vivian ordered and opened the door. The guys left and Vivian slammed the door shut.

"Alright, let's see what we have here..." Taylor said and started to go through Haley's clothes.

"So, how far have you and Nathan gone?" Vivian asked casually. Haley almost choked on her ice tea.

"What?" she asked while wiping her mouth.

"Have you and Nathan had sex yet?" Vivian asked.

"Of course they haven't." Quinn said laughing. Haley suddenly found the pillow on her lap very interesting. Vivian and Taylor started laughing and screaming at the same time.

"Oh my god, you have!" Vivian said. She, Taylor and Quinn sat down on her bed around her.

"So, the three W's. Where, when and which position." Vivian asked grinning.

"How was it?" Taylor asked.

"Did you use protection?" Quinn asked worried.

"You nosy bitches." Haley said smiling. "It was this morning, in his car and yes, we did use protection. Happy?" Haley asked and tried to get up. She still hadn't changed.

"No, which position?" Vivian asked. Haley grinned at her.

"That's for me to know." She winked.

"And us to find out?" Taylor asked.

"Nope. Just give me some clothes, please." Haley said. She distantly heard a doorbell ring but couldn't be sure because of the noise downstairs. Apparently her brothers had turned the music on to block the disturbing noises from the basement.

"How about this top?" Taylor held a piece of clothing in the air.

"That's a shirt? Thougt it was a bra." Quinn muttered.

Meanwhile downstairs

The doorbell really had rang. And unfortunitely for Nathan, it was Brian and Chris who opened the door.

"What do you want"? Brian asked.

"I came to pick up-"

"Yeah, you came to pick up our baby sister." Chris said.

"Yeah..."

"So, what are your plans for tonight?" Brian asked.

"We're tripple dating with Brooke, Lucas, Jake and Peyton."

"Oh really, where are they now?" Chris asked.

"Waiting in the car." Brian and Chris looked behind Nathan and saw his black SUV parked there. They could see four persons waiting outside the car.

"So, what are you doing tonight?"

"Dinner and a movie."

"Matching stories... Very good." Chris said.

"It's not a story. It's what we're doing." Nathan said.

"That's what you say."

"Look, can you please just get Haley?"

"What, you don't wanna hang out with us anymore?"

"Are we boring you?"

"You don't like us?"

"Good, because we don't like you eather."

"Whatcha gonna do now, big boy?"

"Chris, Brian. Get inside." The twins turned to see Matt standing behind them. The twins smirked to each other and mouthed 'you're dead' to Nathan.

"Nathan." Matt said after he closed the door.

"Matthew." Nathan said back.

"So, I understand you and Haley are seeing each other again?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, we are."

"And you're taking her out tonight?"

"We're tripple dating with Brooke, Lucas, Peyton and Jake."

"That's what I heard. So, I see you all are driving together." Matt said when he saw the people outside Nathan's car.

"Yeah, we though it would be more convenient."

"I see. So, it's your SUV?"

"Yeah, I'll be driving."

"I probably don't have to tell you to drive carefully."

"No, you-"

"But I'm gonna do it anyways. Drive carefully."

"I always do."

"Because if she gets into another car accident, I will personally drive over you, got it?"

"Yeah, got it." Nathan said. Something about the calm way Matt was talking assured Nathan that he was not joking.

"I don't trust you, Nathan. I will never trust any guy who's with her or any of my other sisters. But I do trust you to take care of her."

"I will."

"Good. Now, as her oldest brother it's my duty to tell you this. And this is from the whole family."

"What is it?" Nathan asked.

"You break her heart, I break your neck." Matt said with an icy glare. Right that moment the front door opened. Taylor looked at Matt and Nathan.

"Oh, good. You're here." Taylor said and turned to yell upstairs. "Hales! Nathan's here!" Taylor turned to look at Nathan. "So, what's up Nate."

"Nothing, just chatting with your brothers."

"Oh god, did they hit you? Kick you? Hurt you in any way?"

"No, nothing like that." Nathan said smiling. Taylor turned to glare at Matt.

"If you smashed his windshield with a sledge hammer like you did to that one guy-"

"Relax, I didn't do anything. We just chatted."

"Good, go get Haley. I need to chat with Nathan too." Taylor said. Matt left to get Haley.

"So, Nathan. How's it going?"

"Why don't you just skip to the part where you tell me you will kill me if I hurt your sister?" Nathan said smirking.

"If you hurt her, I will tell Matt that you had sex with his baby sister. Twice." Taylor said. Nathan looked at her with a panicked look.

"She told you?"

"Oh, please. She tells me everything." Taylor said. She looked behind her and saw that Matt was carrying Haley downstairs.

"Listen to me Nathan. I'm sure my brothers have warned you about hurting her and all."

"That's an understatement."

"I have the same warning as they do. Hurt her, we hurt you. But also and this is only from me, if you ever have sex with her again on the back seat of some car, I will hunt you down and chop off your balls. Haley deserves a five-star hotel."

"Got it."

"Good." Taylor said and turned around to see Matt lowering Haley to the ground. Taylor looked at the jeans and the black shirt Haley was wearing.

"You didn't wear the skirt I suggested."

"It was leather."

"So?"

"And you can't bend down with it without showing your ass."

"Awesome, huh." Vivian said from behind them. The twins and Quinn also came to the porch.

"Hales, I'm gonna miss you." Quinn said and hugged her.

"I'm gonna miss you too." Haley said and let go. She then turned to hug Vivian and then the twins.

"Matt, c'mere." Haley said and opened her arms. Matt took a step forward and hugged her.

"Take care, lil' one."

"Always, see you at Christmas Matt. Say hi to Sheila for me."

"I will." He said and let him go. Taylor looked at Haley with a smile.

"My hot bitch." Taylor said while looking at Haley.

"My ho." Haley said smiling. Taylor smiled and gave Haley a big hug.

"Thanks for taking care of me, sis." Haley whispered to Taylor.

"Anytime, hon. I'm just so happy you woke up."

"Me too."

"I did tell you I was gonna make you sleep one week straight, didn't I."

"You did." Haley said when she remembered Taylor's words before the race. "I gotta go now." She said and let Taylor go. "See you all at Christmas." Haley said.

"Yeah, see you at Christmas." Matt said. Haley turned to look at Nathan.

"How about that piggyback ride?" Nathan smirked and turned his back on her.

"Hop on." He said. Haley hopped on his back and turned to wave goodbye to her brothers and sisters. They watched her sit on the passenger side seat while Nathan went to the driver's side. The rest sat on the back seats. They saw Nathan reverse from the driveway and start to drive away. The James kids watched Haley open the window and wave them one last time. They watched the car drive away. Taylor looked at the driveway.

"What the hell did she do to the mailbox?"

-----

"What's with the waving?" Lucas asked when Haley closed the window.

"I just said goodbye to them." Haley said.

"They're leaving?"

"Tonight." Haley answered.

"You ok?" Nathan asked.

"Yep." She said and smiled. She turned around to look at the others.

"So, where's Jenny?"

"With my parents. I promised to go home early. They said hi, by the way."

"Thank your mom for the cookies, they were delicious." Haley said to Jake.

"I will." Jake said.

"So, how are you, Peyton?"

"I'm good. Excited about tonight."

"Really?"

"Well, we haven't really gone out as a group yet." Peyton said.

"That's right. We haven't." Brooke said. "This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship." Brooke said and they all laughed except for Nathan.

"Yeah, if we just make a pact that you don't tell any embarrassing stories about me to Haley." Nathan said.

"Oh, come on. I told her nothing." Brooke said grinning.

"So, you didn't tell her about the time when I drank too much and puked on your washing machine?"

"No." Brooke said and grinned widely. "But you just did." Haley started to laugh out loud.

"Brooke only told me about the time when you farted while doing sit-ups." Haley said and the whole car started to laugh, except for Nathan.

"Peyton died her hair green." Nathan said and everyone looked at a blushing Peyton.

"It was an accident! And it was light yellow!" Peyton said but everyone still laughed. "Brooke wet her pants at cheerleading practise." Peyton said and laughed at the shocked look on Brooke's face.

"You made me laugh! Haley threw an ashtray at Jake and he has a scar from it."

"Oh, everyone knows that." Haley said.

"Well, Lucas likes to sing after sex." Brooke said and everyone laughed even harder.

"Haley can't park!"

"Lucas!" Haley yelled.

"What!" Nathan asked not believing. "But you race!"

"That's right, but she just can't park." Lucas said.

"It's not that easy!" Haley defended.

"Have you seen her mailbox?" Jake asked grinning.

"Shut up, Scarface." Haley said but Jake just laughed harder.

"Oh, look at your own face." Jake said grinning. Haley rolled her eyes while laughing.

"What about her mailbox?" Nathan said. "Wait, she didn't hit her own mailbox, did she?"

"Yes, she did." Lucas said. "And she also smashed her side mirror to her garage wall."

"What!" Nathan asked. "Girl, you ain't never driving my car."

"Afraid I would drive faster than you?" Haley asked with a smirk. Brooke, Lucas, Jake and Peyton "ooh"-ed in the backseat.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing. Except that I'm a better racer than you." Haley said.

"What?" Nathan asked like it was the stupidest thing.

"Well, I would've beaten you."

"No, you wouldn't have."

"I was ahead of you right before the finish line."

"But you never crossed the finish line."

"Neither did you."

"Well, technically I did. When I went to get my car from there, I drove over the finish line."

"That was like one week after!"

"But it counts."

"No, it doesn't."

"Oh, yes it does."

"I'm smarter!"

"And prettier!" Brooke yelled grinning.

"And prettier." Haley said to Nathan.

"That you are." Nathan said and winked at her. "But I'm better at sports."

"Oh, you haven't seen me play soccer yet."

"But I'm still better at basketball than you are at soccer."

"Do you want Nathan to park the car and us to get out so you and Nathan can come to an agreement on the back seat?" Brooke asked smirking from the back seat and winked at Haley. She turned to look at Brooke.

"No, Brooke. That's not necessa- Nathan! You keep this car on the road!"

THE END

Don't forget to review! Oh, and I have a weird question for all of you. :) I'm working on my new Naley fanfic and I need to know if 'Colgate' means something other than the tooth paste. :) English is not my 1st language so I don't know if it has a meaning or not.

-Fes-


	19. Author's note

Author's note:

Oh wow, I can't believe this story is over! It all started in late July when I was on a vacation in Bulgaria and suddenly while lying on the beach I got the idea of a race. Now 3 months, 231 pages and over 260 reviews later I finally posted the epilogue. It all feels so surreal to me.

I would thank each and every one of you for reviewing if I had the time, energy and patience. :) But it doesn't mean I appreciate it any less. You guys totally rock!

I hope you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have. I think I have used all the potential of this idea, so unfortunately there will not be any sequals to this.

I'm already working on my next Naley fic but I'm not going to post it yet. I'll write some more chapters and see where the story is heading and then decide whether to continue or not but most likely I will. :)

Anyways, please review one more time. What was good about the story? What would you change? Every review will help me when I'm writing my new fic.

You guys rock! Thank you again for all the awesome reviews. It really _does_ mean the world to me. Fes thanks You with all her heart. :)

Kiitos.

-Fes-

P.S And if you do know what 'Colgate' means (other than the tooth paste brand) please let me know. :)


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